School News

Wantagh students help out the needy

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Students and staff at Wantagh Middle School have been in the giving spirit lately. With Thanksgiving and the holidays fast approaching, the school is doing its part to help out needy people in the community.

The Student Council is nearing the end of its Thanksgiving food drive, which began earlier this month. Students are asked to donate food to help out about 15 families in Wantagh. Items that are being collected include canned vegetables, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, soup and dessert. “All the trimmings,” Principal Dawn Matrochano said.

The food will be put into baskets that will be given out to the families. The Student Council is also collecting money, which will be used to purchase gift cards, so each family can buy a turkey and fresh produce at King Kullen.

“It’s important to help out those who don’t have money to have a nice Thanksgiving,” said Student Council President Kaitlin Steingruebner, an eighth-grader.

Vice President Katie Duggan said that the Student Council has been doing fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the gift cards, including a series of after-school competitions. To inspire them further, the homeroom class that collects the most food will receive a bagel breakfast.

Steingruebner has donated some soup to the food drive, and Duggan made a contribution to the gift card fund. The girls said that it is important for the Student Council to set an example. “It’s important that kids know there are people who don’t have enough,” Steingruebner said.

Students have also been bringing in Thanksgiving-themed napkins and table clothes to ensure that families have a festive holiday.

English teacher Kimberly Davis is holding a pajama fundraiser with her classes. It is being done in connection with Scholastic Books.

Based on the amount of pajamas that students bring in, Scholastic will make a matching donation of books. Both the pajamas and the books will be sent to a homeless shelter.

“It’s a good time of year to think about others and to be charitable,” Davis said. “It’s nice to give back.”

The staff is also doing a snowflake drive. Paper snowflakes have been hung around the faculty room with gift requests for children in Wantagh. Teachers are taking the snowflakes, buying the gifts and giving them to the school psychologist, who then gives them to the families.

The requests are wide ranging, including clothes, toys and electronics. Matrochano said that drive is indicative of the giving spirit of her staff. “It just goes to show the climate of the building,” she said. “They’re willing to reach into their own pockets to help the families.”