Camp Avenue students connect with seniors

The cowgirls and cowboys of North Merrick’s Camp Avenue Elementary School threw a hoedown for local senior citizens on May 15 that featured plenty of food, music and dancing.

The occasion was Camp Avenue’s “Senior-to-Senior Social,” an annual tradition in which the school’s sixth-graders host senior citizens from area assisted-living facilities for an afternoon of entertainment. North Merrick Superintendent David Feller called it a “wonderful” event that fosters intergenerational communication.

This year’s fete was Western-themed, with cacti drawings decorating the walls of Camp Avenue’s gymnasium and kerchiefs adorning participants’ necks. Senior citizens from The Bristal Assisted Living in East Meadow watched students perform song-and-dance numbers from “Footloose.” Local eateries — too many to name here — donated the food.