Who says you have to be big to make an impact on the world? This year, the littlest of residents had a special theme to announce. The pre-kindergarten class of 2009 from Daniel Webster School had a graduation assembly Tuesday that incorporated the environmentally friendly theme “Pre-K Goes Green.”
The ceremony was held at the school gym, where the main color on the walls and artwork was green. Props from previous assembly presentations were re-used and recycled. Even the program for the event was printed on recycled paper.
Parents cheered on their sons and daughters from the bleachers and proudly applauded the youngsters after their class performances and the presentation of their diplomas.
The green theme was made part of the curriculum throughout the year. Kids, teachers, and parents worked hard for the past few months to make the presentation a reality.
“They worked with the music teacher to learn the group songs [and] individually, with their teacher to do their own songs and dances. So it’s a lot of hard work that went into this,” said pre-kindergarten teacher Lorraine Irizarry. “The idea was agreed upon early in the year and the decorations were started about three month ago, so it’s a long process.”
Teachers talk recycling
The group of parents, teachers, and students searched through refuse and collected materials that can be re-used, such as empty cans and bottles. Arrangements were made so that after the ceremony, the props would be put into bags and delivered to a recycling center.
“The children used different materials that people would throw away and made many of the props and decorations from the materials,” said Anna Bernstein, a pre-kindergarten teacher and main coordinator of the event. “We have a pineapple made out of cup holders, and we have bottle tops that we used to make flowers. So everything was made from materials that we would have thrown away.”
“Now because of this show, I can’t get him out of other people’s recycling bins.” – Valerie Ramshure
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“Mom, don’t throw that can away, put it in the recycling, put the bottle in the bottles, and tie up your newspapers and try to reuse things. Keep our earth and save our planet,” added Bernstein.
“We separate all our cans and bottles and paper. We take our bags to the supermarket,” said Valerie Ramshure, mom to Zachary and parent volunteer of the project. “Now because of this show, I can’t get him out of other people’s recycling bins. We’ll walk down the street and he’ll be like, ‘I can make something out of this.’ ” Ramshure added: “It’s good. The theme has worked on a generation.”
Parents prefer Weehawken
Among the proud crowd of parents were Nadya Keeney’s, who moved to the area from Houston, Texas. “We’re very excited. I think it’s wonderful. Her favorite teacher is Ms. Bernstein,” said Arianie Keeney, Nadya’s mother. An ex-school teacher herself, Keeney said she and her husband researched school districts before they moved. Although at first inclined to go to Hoboken, they chose Weehawken instead. “She’s learned a lot of things. I’m very happy with the school right now,” said Keeney.
Ms. Bernstein agreed. She said the Weehawken School District received funding for their full day pre-kindergarten program and pointed out New Jersey is number two in the nation when it comes to early childhood education.
“I think New Jersey schools are committed to early childhood education,” said Bernstein. She hopes that legislation will be passed for funding that will allow 3-year-olds to be included into the district and to be able to receive a public school education.
“We must prepare these children for a solid academic foundation and that is given here at Webster school,” said Superintendent of Schools, Kevin McLellan. “We have an open-door policy when it comes to parents. We encourage parents to have them come in and visit my operation during a normal school day and see things how they take place.”
What’s next for these little ones
Both in the short term and long term, the future for these youngsters remains to be seen. However, parents are encouraged to continue their children’s education during the summer months away from school.
“Bring them to the libraries; let them read during the hot hours of the day, engage their minds. You’ll be surprised how resilient they are when they come back in September,” said McLellan.
“I hope they remembered the good time they had,” said Dorothy Helwig, pre-kindergarten teacher, as the children in the auditorium performed to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s tune “Who’ll stop the rain?”
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com