February 2010

Local School News

Mamaroneck Avenue School Elementary
Students Rally to Help Haiti

After watching news reports of the devastation and tragedy last week in Haiti, the students and staff at Mamaroneck Avenue School (MAS) decided they wanted to do something to help. In particular, they wanted to do something to help children in Haiti that don’t have enough food, water and medical supplies.

On January 15th, Principal Carrie Amon asked the students to spend part of their long weekend and Martin Luther King Day thinking about what they could do to help those in need in Haiti. Each class talked about the tragedy, what was needed, and what could be done. They brainstormed ideas for helping Haiti.

They knew they needed to do something quickly to help. Each class wrote a letter to Principal Amon detailing their ideas. Several classes suggested bake sales, car washes, lemonade stands and one suggested selling pencils, with all proceeds going to Haiti. One class suggested doing “Chores for Haiti” with all students doing their weekly chores and donating their allowances to Haiti. Some classes wanted to collect water, food and medicine to send to Haiti. Ms. Almeyda’s Small Treasures Pre-K class (made up of 3 year olds) even suggested “giving the kids toys from their houses.”

Mrs. Saul’s Fourth Grade class read the book, “Have You Filled A Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids,” by Carol McCloud. They have been thinking about how we can help each other live better lives. The book aided them in thinking and talking about ways to help each other and ways to help people who live far away.

Principal Amon met with the 5th Grade students during lunch to review the school’s ideas. They also spoke about the idea of giving something without getting anything in return. Importantly, they came to the conclusion that they were willing to sacrifice something to help those in need in Haiti. They would give up ice cream money all week long and donate it to those in Haiti.

So to and from lunch all week, students donated their ice cream money by dropping their dollar bills into a collection jar outside the lunchroom. At the end of the week, the total reached $1,428.

“Every teacher at MAS has written ‘SACRIFICE’ on their chalkboard this week. They have talked about what it means,” stated Principal Amon. “The students decided they would make a sacrifice. It wasn’t that they gave up their money and got nothing in return. They’ve actually gotten a huge sense of accomplishment – both in the amount of money that they’ve collected and in knowing that they can make a difference.”

 

 

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