This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

PS 104 From Far Rockaway Visit Scotland Elementary School

Excitement is building at Scotland Elementary School as students prepare to welcome their new friends from PS 104 in Far Rockaway.  

After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the Scotland faculty led by first grade teacher Danielle Donovan, third grade teacher Wendy Hamann and fifth grade teacher Cheryl Osher, wanted to find a way to help a school in the hardest hit area.  

They were put in touch with PS 104, a pre-K through 5th grade school in Far Rockaway.  After the hurricane, more than a third of students and staff at this school lost their homes.  Scotland School and the Ridgefield community raised more than $18,000 via tag sales, donations, bake sales and other community events.  In addition, some of the Scotland teachers visited PS 104 to deliver donated school supplies and stuffed animals.  

Scotland 5th grader Leslie Peterson explains what happened next:   “The Scotland School 5th graders have pen pals at PS 104.  Every 2-3 weeks, the fifth graders send letters back and forth.  Sometimes, the letters have special little drawings or knick-knacks.  Around Valentine’s Day a lot of the girls received candy or valentines.  It's not all about the goodies although it’s a lot of fun receiving surprises. Over the past few weeks the PS 104 & SES 5th graders have gotten to know each other and have become good friends.  They've grown so close that some of the PS 104 kids have even named someone special after them.  For example, Maddy Decs pen pal’s mom had 2 baby girls.  Maddy's pen pal loved her and her name so much that the mom named one of the girls Maddy.  Also, a girl at SES had a cow named after her by her pen pal. You can see how close they've grown over the course of a few months.  Mrs. Osher who is the 5th grade math teacher at SES is in charge of the pen pal part of the program.  She said that she loves how the 5th graders have made friends by getting to know them on the inside and not by appearance.”  

The pen-pal program was such a success that staff at both schools worked together to find a way for the students to meet.   On May 29th, students from PS104 are visiting Scotland Elementary School for a special 5th grade field day.  The visiting students will be met with welcome signs, and then will be treated to a fun day of games, including a visit from one of the Harlem Wizards (basketball is one of the favorite sports at PS 104) and a cook-out sponsored by Chartwell’s, the school district’s food service company.  

This is sure to be a wonderful day and the 5th graders are excited to meet and talk to their new friends in person.  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?