Gifts to be Thankful For

Students and staff members throughout the Bethpage School District were busy lending a hand around their community this Thanksgiving season. Schools continued past traditions of celebrating the day and helping others, while and some started new initiatives, as well. Highlighted below are just a few of the many festive and generous activities that took place over the past month. 

Central Boulevard School collected over 22 baskets of food (one from each class) for a Thanksgiving Food Drive held in collaboration with the Knights of Columbus. This year, baskets filled with nonperishable items, as well as over 10 donated turkeys, were assembled in the building’s front lobby and picked up by Knights of Columbus representatives Peter Gentilini and Joe Brooks for distribution to needy families in the community.

Charles Campagne School combined a food collection effort with its annual Native American Day. During this activity first graders rotated among stations and decorated their own brown bag vests, bead necklaces, and drums, and assembled donated food packages in the all-purpose room for distribution to families in need. The atmosphere was made complete with a life-size tepee, which each child had an opportunity to view up close. Celebratory Thanksgiving feasts were held in the classrooms, and students contributed food or drinks.

Kramer Lane first graders enjoyed dressing up, singing, and dancing to some Thanksgiving-related songs during a celebration, which they followed by feasting on turkey with all the trimmings.

The JFK Middle School Student Council dedicated time in November to collecting food for families less fortunate. They provided their donations to the Plainview/Bethpage Lions Club, where baskets were created and eventually delivered to recipients. 

Various Bethpage High School student organizations also helped make a difference. Like those at JFK, the High School’s Student Council members teamed up with the Lion’s Club, donating food items that were boxed up and shared with those in need. Thanks to the Bethpage King Kullen, which granted permission for students to hold a food drive outside the store for which they gathered an impressive amount of items. Student Civic led another volunteer effort collecting cash register receipts for free turkeys or hams and providing the coupons to the Gerald Ryan Outreach Center in Wyandanch. SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) participants visited the Atria of Plainview where they worked with residents to make Thanksgiving “thank you” cards for wounded soldiers.

The District has reason to be proud of the students and community members that made these many acts of kindness possible, demonstrating the importance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Photos: Karina Stabile, Syntax Communication