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Mostly Cloudy Valley Streamers share in students' talents
See more photos from the event here.
At each of Valley Stream’s 14 schools, students, teachers and administrators have been working diligently all year on projects, displays and performances for one night in April where these students’ talents are front in center as the community comes together to celebrate education.
The Valley Stream Council of PTAs hosted the 52nd annual Lights On For Education event at Memorial Junior High School on April 4, which attracted hundreds of people from across Valley Stream.
Memorial, while usually buzzing with people during the day, was packed on this night, with people going from room to room, checking out what students have been learning and working on.
The evening started with a welcome ceremony in a crowded gymnasium filled with singing, uplifting messages and inspirational quotes. John Squadrito, an assistant principal at Memorial, organized the event for the 10th consecutive year and welcomed everyone.
“They are our lights and they represent all the children in Valley Stream,” said Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund, superintendent in District 13, during the ceremony. “They are our bright lights for the future, not only in Valley Stream and New York, but the future of our democracy.”
Each of the three elementary district superintendents had student representatives read famous quotes during the ceremony and Dr. Bill Heidenreich, superintendent of the Central High School District, played the role of emcee.
Following the welcome ceremony, District 24 and Central High School District Board of Education President Tony Iadevaio cut the ribbon and Lights On was officially underway. It didn’t take very long for students and parents to make their way to nearby classrooms that were brimming with displays and projects.
In District 13’s setup, Jonathan Prashad and Chris Basile, two sixth-graders from Wheeler Avenue School, were showing off their paper roller coaster, which generated a lot of buzz. Those in attendance could drop a marble on the top of their three-foot creation and watch it methodically drop down to the floor after a series of turns and bumps along the way. “We worked really hard on it and we feel very proud of it,” Prashad said of the project.
