Monday, November 26, 2012

Thank you!

As promised, here are more pictures!

Thank You!

Here are some more pictures!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thank you!

Thank You!

Dear Families and Friends of P.S. 132, I would like to thank all of you for your support with our efforts to adopt the Scholars’ Academy. The Scholars’ Academy, a Middle and High school from Rockaway Park, was relocated into two schools in East New York, after Hurricane Sandy devastated their school. It has certainly been a rewarding few weeks at P.S. 132. What started with two simple fundraisers, the jewelry making workshop and “leaves of thanks,” culminated into one of the most amazing give backs we have experienced. Below is a summary of the events leading up to and including yesterday’s give back. Working hand and hand with staff members from the Scholars’ Academy, we learned about how Sandy greatly affected their school community. They expressed a need for simple items that so many of us take for granted, such as blankets, socks and soap. Our call for your help of much needed toiletries and other everyday items led to our main office bursting with box loads of donations. Day after day, truckloads of these donated supplies were brought to our adopted school. We then reached out to our students and their teachers to help send “smiles” to the students of the Scholars’ Academy who have been suffering with their loss. All of our students worked hard to create “smiles,” (individual student created craft projects), for their new adopted friends from Rockaway. Students created gift bags, book marks, scarves, masks and other gifts that they felt would bring a “smile” to another child’s face. How great it was to see students from grades Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 understanding the importance of giving to others in such a time of need. A great big thank you to our teachers and class parents for helping make our “smile” project such a success! Families from Rockaway are still in need of heat, gas and electricity. When we learned this, we realized, a hot meal, something that we often tend to take for granted, had to be added to our community service effort. As you all know, food is something we do well here at P.S. 132. Our families and local businesses heard our call for help yet again and donated food in mass proportions. The amount of food donated was awe inspiring. Car after car dropped off hot food ready to be delivered to our friends at the Scholars’ Academy and families in need from Rockaway and Broad Channel. Parents ran down the block with pot holders still on their hands, delivering fresh baked turkeys, hams and chickens. Trays of pasta, rice, beans and vegetables made the food donations complete. Dishes of food filled an entire half of our cafeteria. The smell of home and a warm cooked meal filled the halls of our school. Parents willing to volunteer their day to serve the students and families of Broad Channel lined their cars down Conselyea Street. Cars were loaded with food, juice, student made “smiles” and parent volunteers. Then off the caravans went to East New York to feed students from the Scholars’ Academy and to Broad Channel to feed families in need of a hot meal. The generosity of our families and our great Williamsburg community was absolutely overwhelming. I was fortunate to be a part of the community service effort and had the pleasure of visiting both the Middle School and High School students of the Scholars’ Academy. The students of both schools were simply incredible. They were genuinely touched and appreciative of the efforts made by the P.S. 132 school community. Each student said “thank you,” and comments like, “I can’t believe you did this for us” and “This is so nice of you,” were heard over and over. One student stated, as tears welled up in his eyes, “This smell reminds me of my grandmother’s house.” As I walked from classroom to classroom with the school’s principal, Brian O’ Connell, I was overwhelmed by the spirit of hope that has been instilled by the staff of the Scholars’ Academy. Mr. O’Connell joked with his students as they all jovially asked each other, “How you doin’?” Although it was clear that this was a tradition of the Scholars’ Academy, it seemed to hit home, as Mr. O’Connell looked at the classes and asked sincerely, “No, really guys, how are you doing?” Just seeing the look on the students’ faces when he spoke to them brought tears to my eyes. As I looked around the crowded classrooms, I saw “smile packages” from our students on their desks. Some students already were wearing paper tissue flowers on the wrists and enjoying the treats made by our classes. They all waved and thanked me, and they all smiled. They smiled, and I thought, we achieved our goal! As I watched our school community this week work so hard to “Do Good” for others, I became overwhelmed with a true feeling of community and togetherness. As the principal of P.S. 132, I am truly thankful to be surrounded by such supportive and generous people. This Thanksgiving, I will continue to give thanks for working with such dedicated and generous families and staff members. Your efforts on a daily basis continue to amaze me. I wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely, Beth Lubeck