By:JOSEPH KELLARD
The occasion was the Walk for the Cure of Juvenile Diabetes, and Pagan was educating his younger schoolmates about the disease he's lived with since age 5. Following his talk, the students kicked off a fund-raiser by trekking around the track outside.
"Diabetes is a disease that does not allow you to have a lot of sugar that your body needs," Nick told the students who sat quietly and attentively on the gym floor. He explained how, when his blood sugar is low, he has to inject himself with insulin through a syringe to keep his sugar level up. His life depends on it, he stressed.
Several girls from the school's Student Council, the group that established the fund-raiser and will go from classroom to classroom seeking donations, put on a skit to further enlighten students about what diabetics must go through daily. "You have to inject yourself every day?" one girl asked another who played a fictional diabetic.
"Yes," came the answer.
"Does it hurt?"
"No, after a while you get use to it."
Jessica Kambic put together a PowerPoint presentation about diabetes that was shown on a screen in the gym. In part, the presentation explained how children with diabetes can do everything else any other child does, only they must take insulin to stay alive.
"Treat someone with diabetes as you would anyone else," Jessica implored.
Principal Karen Siris explained to the students that by taking time out during lunch to walk laps around the track, they would not only helping to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, but they would exercise to improve their own health. The more miles they walked, the more money they would help raise for kids like Nick. Siris asked each student to do a mile each lunchtime for the duration of the six-week fund-raiser.
The Student Council handed out envelops with charts for the kids to keep track of the miles they walk and the names of people and the amounts they donated, whether in school or in their neighborhoods.
After learning about diabetes, the students took to the track, walking -- some running -- under an arch of rainbow-colored balloons sent to the school by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.
Siris and her staff, along with students, established the walking fund-raiser last year, when they put their sneakers on to help raise money for autistic children, after which they created the 9E Mileage Club.
"We were so successful last year when we walked for autism...," Siris said, "that this year we decided to do a walk again for diabetes. We see it as part of our effort to get the kids to care about people."
Side box:
Boardman Elementary School 9E Student Council Representatives
5th Grade:
Mrs. Brodsky
Rachel Katz
Gabrielle Schwartz
Samantha Birk
Mrs. Forthofer
Emily Carlisi
Leigh Cohen
Yianni Babatsikos
Mrs. Lewin
Eric Pinkiert
Jessica Kambic
Sandra Sackstein
Jessica Snyder
6th Grade:
Mrs. Hannon
Amanda Calderon
Alec Melker
Lance Ribacoff
Jamie Schmutter
Mr. Lusterman
Jessica Klein
Sara Sherman
Jennifer Hertz
Jonathan LeMantia
Daniel Frisch
Mrs. Rosenberg
Daniel Nemzer
Matthew Ringer
Joshua Lieberman
