Wheeler Avenue marks Sept. 11 with ceremony, teachings

Only a handful of Wheeler Avenue School’s students were alive for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and even those who were born were too young to know what was going on.

Over the years, many of those nearly 600 children in grades 1-6 have learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center from family members, conversations in school or through the news. Others, especially the school’s youngest students, have yet to fully understand the events of a day forever etched into the minds of adults.

Two days before the 10th anniversary of the attacks, third-grade teacher Kathleen Ianuale engaged her students in a conversation about the events of a decade ago. Many students said they knew what happened, even though they weren’t born yet, recounting stories that had been shared by others.

Kaitlyn Gavin said she learned a lot about Sept. 11 from her parents, and also watching television programs about it. She said it was tough seeing the video images from that day. “I was really, really sad,” she said.

Paige Smith said her mother worked at Citibank near the World Trade Center and saw the planes hit the towers. She spoke of her mother’s actions to help the first responders that day, whether it was giving them food, water or medical attention. “I think that was very generous of her,” Paige said.

Thomas Colgan said he was sad he never got to meet his cousin, Scott Bart, who was working for Marsh and McLennan on the 96th floor of the north tower. He was 28 at the time and was near the impact of the first plane. An uncle also worked in the World Trade Center but escaped. Thomas’s father worked right across the street from the World Trade Center and was missing until later than night.

After the students shared their stories, passed down from a generation ahead, Ianuale talked about her own experience. She taught sixth-grade at the time and noted that many students were being pulled out of class. “I didn’t know what was happening,” she said. “I was in my classroom. I didn’t have a TV.”

Ianuale recalls the school principal eventually stopping by her classroom and whispering in her ear what happened. Though concerned about friends who worked at the World Trade Center, Ianuale said she had to stay strong for the children.