Cranston Herald
June 2, 2010
All text by Jennifer Cowart
Last year the seventh- and eighth-graders at Park View Middle School formed a chapter of Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA).
This year, YUGA is making a difference.
Working with their faculty advisor, Lloyd Bochner, the YUGA students decided to focus on educating their peers about the issues faced by girls in impoverished countries.
“We decided to raise money to sponsor a child,” explained Angelina Marra, an eighth-grader at Park View. “We’re going to write to her for a year and the money will go towards her health care and food.”
Classmate Rachel Moore said a little bit of money from the United States can go a long way in other countries.
“Just $288 a year will help her community with water and houses,” she said. “It also helps other girls learn different types of jobs, not just being stuck in their own community,” student Claire Ramirez-Raftree added.
To increase awareness at their own school about the plight of girls in other countries, the YUGA group decided to host a YUGA Day.
According to Olivia Tagliaferri, a contest took place over the intercom on YUGA Day, with students having to name quotes from different movies to earn prizes, and two different fundraisers took place as well.
“We made bracelets to sell to the students for 50 cents and we had a teacher dress-down day for $1,” said Hekmet Haddada.
Bochner is impressed by the YUGA students’ determination and drive.
“These guys are fantastic. They are very socially driven. I really just advise them,” he said.
Principal Joseph Rotz agreed with Bochner, stating that the program was originally a 10-week after-school program that Bochner volunteered to extend using his own time, due to the high level of interest shown by the students.
“This group of students is a very overachieving, mature group,” Rotz said. “They are very aware of global issues. They’ve really set an example for our students with initiatives like what we’re doing today.”
The YUGA students also created a video, which they shared first with Principal Rotz and then with the other Park View students.
“We decided to interview some staff and students about their knowledge and views of girls and rights. Then we recorded them and put in statistics about how people are living in poverty,” said Marra.
According to Moore, the YUGA students at Park View are pleased with the success of their first YUGA day.
“I think it’s good that we got the word out,” she said.
Alexis Cabral made sure that throughout the day everyone understood why the fundraising and activities were taking place.
“When people asked, I told them why. I told them that it goes towards the girls, and that got people’s attention,” Cabral said.
Rotz feels that the YUGA Day provided valuable lessons for the entire school community and also gave the YUGA group a chance to get involved in an after-school program that they truly believed in.
“This is a perfect example of the value of after-school programs and the role that they play. We need to grab them when they’re this age and point them in the right direction,” Rotz said. “These are the types of things that we need to offer more of.”
Showing posts with label Park View. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Park View. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Park View comes together for their own
April 22, 2010
Cranston Herald
All text and photos by Jen Cowart
With at least 10 families severely impacted by the March floods, and several still displaced from their homes, Park View Middle School rose to action last Thursday with a Field Day for Flood Victims.
They hoped to raise $3,000 that day, but far surpassed that amount and collected almost $5,500.
Staff and students at Park View organized the event within a few days.
“It’s all about the school community here,” said Assistant Principal Chris D’Ambrosio.
The weather was favorable for the field day, and activity stations dotted the lawn. Inside, guests were treated to an ice cream social.
At the same time, 92 Pro-FM took music requests and promoted the event on the air.
According to D’Ambrosio, students were each asked to bring in $3. Some families donated more, however, as well as outside agencies and neighboring businesses who made donations.
Billie-Jo Rossi, parent of three students; one at Park View, one at Chester Barrows and one at Cranston High School East, said it’s been the “regular people” and agencies like CCAP (Cranston Community Action Program,) who have helped out the most.
Rossi and her family lived at 60 Perkins Avenue, one of the worst areas affected by the floods. They have been displaced from their home and lost everything in it.
“We had 71 inches of water in our house,” said Rossi, showing page after page; one more devastating than the next, in the photo album that she is using to document flood damage. She has had to take a leave of absence from work to concentrate on the situation at hand.
Rossi said that her daughter at Park View is having the most difficult time coping, but the faculty and staff there has been wonderful in making accommodations and helping her to get through the days.
“I’ve been here seven years, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Annette Harris, Park View’s social worker. “They’ve lost everything; they can’t function, they can’t do their work, they just sit and cry. The teachers tell me these were the happiest kids. [Now,] the kids feel like life isn’t fair, and they feel selfish. They miss their things but they know their families need things like a hot water heater.”
In response to the devastation, Harris contacted CCAP and together formed a trauma therapy group over April vacation week.
Principal Joseph Rotz was both proud and pleased with the results of the field day fundraiser.
“As a community, as a family, we wanted to do something for our children that had been displaced. The best way to do that was to raise quick funds for them,” he said.
Rotz explained that the money raised was given to the families on Friday, the last day of school before vacation.
“We’re hoping to call these families tomorrow and tell them that we’re praying for them, we’re thinking of them, and we care about them,” he said at the field day.
Rotz was also quick to credit his staff and faculty at Park View as being “completely responsible” for pulling the event together.
“It just goes to show how much our families will pull together when someone is in need,” he said.
He also made mention of the Parents and Teachers at Park View organization.
“They made a very generous donation at last night’s meeting of $500. That was top-notch, very thoughtful,” Rotz said.
Guests from the community visited the field day throughout the day. Mayor Allan Fung and a team of students took part in an intense Tug-A-War game against Rotz and another team of students, and then spoke to all of the students on the field, over the microphone.
“This is why I love this city and why I love all of you,” Fung said. “I’m proud to be here to see you helping each other through this crisis.”
Fung said he’s heard the stories of the students whose homes have been impacted by the floods.
“Each of the kids in the school and their families are helping their classmates, and others, through a very difficult time. Everyone is coming together to help the families in one of the hardest hit areas of Cranston,” he said.
Despite the fun and laughter being had at the field day, the Park View students understood the impact and true importance of what they were doing for each other on that day.
“I know one person who lost a lot in the floods,” said eighth-grader Emma Orton. “I am glad to be helping out.”
Fellow eighth-grader Kaileen Field agreed.
“I feel good about how we’re helping and supporting everybody whether we know them or not,” she said.
Cranston Herald
All text and photos by Jen Cowart
They hoped to raise $3,000 that day, but far surpassed that amount and collected almost $5,500.
Staff and students at Park View organized the event within a few days.
“It’s all about the school community here,” said Assistant Principal Chris D’Ambrosio.
The weather was favorable for the field day, and activity stations dotted the lawn. Inside, guests were treated to an ice cream social.
At the same time, 92 Pro-FM took music requests and promoted the event on the air.
According to D’Ambrosio, students were each asked to bring in $3. Some families donated more, however, as well as outside agencies and neighboring businesses who made donations.
Billie-Jo Rossi, parent of three students; one at Park View, one at Chester Barrows and one at Cranston High School East, said it’s been the “regular people” and agencies like CCAP (Cranston Community Action Program,) who have helped out the most.
Rossi and her family lived at 60 Perkins Avenue, one of the worst areas affected by the floods. They have been displaced from their home and lost everything in it.
“We had 71 inches of water in our house,” said Rossi, showing page after page; one more devastating than the next, in the photo album that she is using to document flood damage. She has had to take a leave of absence from work to concentrate on the situation at hand.
Rossi said that her daughter at Park View is having the most difficult time coping, but the faculty and staff there has been wonderful in making accommodations and helping her to get through the days.
“I’ve been here seven years, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Annette Harris, Park View’s social worker. “They’ve lost everything; they can’t function, they can’t do their work, they just sit and cry. The teachers tell me these were the happiest kids. [Now,] the kids feel like life isn’t fair, and they feel selfish. They miss their things but they know their families need things like a hot water heater.”
In response to the devastation, Harris contacted CCAP and together formed a trauma therapy group over April vacation week.
Principal Joseph Rotz was both proud and pleased with the results of the field day fundraiser.
“As a community, as a family, we wanted to do something for our children that had been displaced. The best way to do that was to raise quick funds for them,” he said.
Rotz explained that the money raised was given to the families on Friday, the last day of school before vacation.
“We’re hoping to call these families tomorrow and tell them that we’re praying for them, we’re thinking of them, and we care about them,” he said at the field day.
Rotz was also quick to credit his staff and faculty at Park View as being “completely responsible” for pulling the event together.
“It just goes to show how much our families will pull together when someone is in need,” he said.
He also made mention of the Parents and Teachers at Park View organization.
“They made a very generous donation at last night’s meeting of $500. That was top-notch, very thoughtful,” Rotz said.
Guests from the community visited the field day throughout the day. Mayor Allan Fung and a team of students took part in an intense Tug-A-War game against Rotz and another team of students, and then spoke to all of the students on the field, over the microphone.
Fung said he’s heard the stories of the students whose homes have been impacted by the floods.
“Each of the kids in the school and their families are helping their classmates, and others, through a very difficult time. Everyone is coming together to help the families in one of the hardest hit areas of Cranston,” he said.
Despite the fun and laughter being had at the field day, the Park View students understood the impact and true importance of what they were doing for each other on that day.
“I know one person who lost a lot in the floods,” said eighth-grader Emma Orton. “I am glad to be helping out.”
Fellow eighth-grader Kaileen Field agreed.
“I feel good about how we’re helping and supporting everybody whether we know them or not,” she said.
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