Students and teachers from Alden Terrace School laced up their shoes for an important cause when the school hosted its annual Autism Walk.

During the one-mile walk around the school community, students held handcrafted signs that showed their support for those with autism. Applied Behavior Analysis teacher Will McCabe said the school holds the walk and a variety of fundraisers throughout the school year to raise awareness. The fundraising efforts benefit the Nassau/Suffolk chapter of the Autism Society of America. The organization uses the donations they receive to give directly back to the local community.

NSASA Executive Director Suzanne Reek said the Elmont Union Free School District is one of the most involved on Long Island, raising more than $25,000 for the organization since 2012.  

“What’s amazing is aside from the money they raise, they spread awareness and acceptance,” Reek said.   

Photo Captions:

1. Alden Terrace School students name Jacqueline Williams and Melissa Cooper (right) are pictured with (from left): Applied Behavior Analysis teacher Desiree Buffolino, Police officers Chris Varga and Kelvin Abrego and Principal Shawnée Warfield.
2. Alden Terrace School student Noella Johnson is pictured with Applied Behavior Analysis teacher Monica Perrone prior to the walk.
3. Alden Terrace School Applied Behavior Analysis teacher Will McCabe is pictured with student Jaiden Linton.
4. Alden Terrace School kindergarten teacher Lauren Munoz is pictured with some of her students during the walk.
5. Alden Terrace School first-grader Emily Valle showed off the sign she created for the school’s annual Autism Walk.

 

Photos courtesy of the Elmont School District

Massapequa High School’s Coaches, Alumni and Community vs. Cancer awareness event raised approximately $2,800 for the Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer research.

This event was a collaborative effort between the Massapequa High School varsity boys basketball team and coaches, player alumni, the basketball booster club and family and friends of the basketball program. It included an alumni game and donated raffle baskets from each middle school and high school basketball team. Items featured gift cards from local merchants, clothing and sports equipment, and tickets to games.

Led by director Mike Baur, the TrebleMakers chorus group from Islip’s Commack Road Elementary School attended the opening day celebration of the League of YES on May 5, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The League of YES, founded in 2010 as The Miracle League of Long Island, is a non-competitive baseball league for children with special abilities; each player gets up to bat and scores a home run. The focus is on participation and fun.

After the anthem, many of the young singers then stayed to be “buddies” for the League’s special needs athletes, protecting the players from flying balls, assisting them at bat and with getting around the bases after they hit their home run and joining them on the field to help them field the opposite team’s hits.

“I am so humbled to be able to work with such talented singers, but what impresses me more than anything they do with music is the quality of their character,” said Baur. “To see them interact with children that they do not even know and that have disabilities, and to be their buddy for a day, tells me so much about their character.”

 

IMG_3008, IMG_3060, IMG_3063, IMG_3071, IMG_4366: Commack Road Elementary School’s TrebleMakers chorus group sang the national anthem for the opening day celebration of the League of YES, a non-competitive baseball league for children with special abilities, and stayed to serve as “buddies.”

 

Photos courtesy of the Islip School District

 

Sag Harbor Elementary School fifth-graders recently raised $470 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through a craft fair held during their recess.

To raise the money, JoAnn Kelly’s class gathered materials from their classroom and homes to make a variety of items to sell at the fair. They created bookmarks, paperweights, origami animals, wallets, pine cone pineapples and inspirational signs. The items were sold for $1 apiece.

The project, which is just one example of students engaging in the school’s theme, “Sag Harbor Sparkles: Kindness Counts,” also provided a valuable lesson in planning, promotion, advertising and marketing.  

 

Photo caption: Sag Harbor Elementary School fifth-graders made crafts to sell at a fundraising fair for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

 

Photo courtesy of the Sag Harbor School District

During the second week of May, students at Oldfield Middle School in the Harborfields Central School District gave back to the community by giving up portions of their homerooms and recesses to create fleece blankets to donate to Project Linus—an organization that gives homemade blankets to children in need. Students have already assembled more than 50 blankets.

Librarian Judy Boshnack applied for and was awarded a grant through the Harborfields Alumni and Community Educational Foundation (HACEF), and purchased fleece blanket kits to donate to those in need. After the blankets were prepped by Mrs. Boshnack and the rest of the library staff, students gathered around tables and knotted the sides of each fleece, making thick and cozy creations ready for those who needed them.

In addition, students, staff, and local community members have created crochet squares to be connected to make additional blankets to be donated.

“It’s a beautiful way to give back to the community,” said Mrs. Boshnack, “and it teaches our students that simple acts of kindness can truly make a difference, and help others.”

 

Photo Caption:

1. Oldfield Middle School students Hanna, Journey and Aryana worked together to assemble fleece blankets to donate to Project Linus.
2. OMS Students Tasmin and Brendan were proud of their creation, and hoped it would make a child in need smile.  
3. Students at Oldfield Middle School gave back to the community by giving up portions of their homerooms and recesses to create fleece blankets to donate to Project Linus during the second week of May.

 

Photos courtesy of the Harborfields Central School District

 

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