OWEN BROWN Middle School pupils held a senior prom last month. The theme was a Hawaiian luau, with balloons, streamers and centerpieces. But this prom was different than most - the seniors were senior citizens.
The prom was a culmination of a year of activities that the pupils from a school enrichment program and the seniors have shared.
Each month, throughout the school year, pupils from the enrichment program spent time during the school day visiting Owen Brown Senior Center Plus, down the road from the school. They played games, made crafts, danced and - most important - made friends with the senior citizens.
The school and the senior center have enjoyed a partnership for 17 years, said Vivi Provine, the center's director. In our fast-paced world, this is a wonderful way for young people to interact with seniors, Provine said.
The program provides pupils with living history, said Cara Cassell, Gifted and Talented resource teacher at Owen Brown Middle. "Things the seniors have lived through are things the kids are studying in school," she said.
But it isn't just history the pupils learn from the seniors. For seventh-grader Marilyn Chavarria, being involved with the seniors has changed her ideas of what the older generation is like.
"I thought they would be grumpy," Marilyn said. "No one here is grumpy. They are really kind and they like to talk."
Some of that talking has yielded important lessons. "They taught me that life is short, so you should have as much fun as you can," said seventh-grader Dustin Morris.
The seniors enjoy the kids. "They brighten our day," said Anthony Pitrongo, 72. "They make us feel like family. They give us a lot of love."
The Owen Brown Middle School chorus performed on prom day. Then the pupils served a catered lunch to the seniors. Then the dancing began. Pupils danced with seniors and seniors danced together. The pupils cleaned up afterward.
"It's just fun to be here," said seventh-grader Josie Bright. "They taught me you're never too old to have fun."
Other pupils involved in the partnership are Jessica and Bridgett Cherone, Mariam Husain, Nazjewa Trospher, Josephine Bright, Kelly Canales, Rick Gonzalez, John Harris, Rebecca Mayroviz, Rita Rimdenoka, Nathan Cole, Brian Creamer, Amy Zontek, Brittany Haydon and Claryssa Sottilare.
Books to Nicaragua
Two Spanish classes at Long Reach High School had the chance to hone their Spanish skills while helping children in Nicaragua. The students spent about a month making books for a library in a small village there.
The project was led by Spanish teacher Sarah Paul. She came up with the idea after talking to a friend, Janet Denton, who lives in the New York area. In February, Denton traveled to Nicaragua with a group of 40 people from Bedford Presbyterian Church, in Bedford, N.Y. They split into two teams and built two homes and a church in two small villages.
Since their return, the church group formed a partnership with the two Nicaraguan villages. The group hopes to send teachers to a school in one of the villages, stock and staff a village clinic and provide books for a village library, Denton wrote in an e-mail.
Paul's Spanish students wanted to lend a hand. Early last month, the students went to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (the National Zoo) and took pictures of animals. From the pictures, they made "animal pages" - pictures on construction paper, with facts about animals written in Spanish.
Making the books turned into more than just a lesson in sentence structure, Paul said. It was also a lesson in cultural differences.
"When describing an animal they might want to say it's the size of a stick of butter," she said. "But then they had to realize [the Nicaraguans] probably wouldn't have butter in sticks the way we do."
Denton and her group hope to make the trip to Nicaragua an annual event. Their travel is organized through Bridges to Community, a New York nonprofit organization.
Paul is hoping to expand her book-making project. "I'm going to plan things like this into my curriculum," she said. "There are so many opportunities for students to learn outside the periphery of studying from books."
Keep on dancing
Hammond High School seniors Shondra Washington and Tracy Axel - co-captains of the school's dance company, a group that competes nationally - won't stop dancing when their high school careers come to a close.
Both have been accepted to dance teams at their future colleges. Shondra will dance at North Carolina State University. Tracy will dance at the University of Kentucky.
"Both girls have exceptional talent, technique and choreographic skills," said Hammond High School dance teacher Brooke Kuhl-McClelland. "These colleges are getting what I call two fine athletes."
Perfect attendance
Christopher D. Mettee graduated Long Reach High School last month with a commendation. He received a perfect attendance award. Christopher did not miss one day of school from kindergarten through graduation day.