This week is Presidents’ Week, and we are celebrating GoGreen BK’s Leaders of the Future! We are so proud of our friends at P.S. 31, the Eco-School kids, who consistently set a great example for us in terms of leadership, community service, and care for the environment. Every elected official should strive to be as pure-hearted and good for the world as these kids! Who knows? Maybe in 2056, we will have a president from P.S. 31.
PS 31’s student leadership team, the Leaders of Change, has evolved over the years. It began as the Eco-Schools Green Team several years ago. Led by Sustainability Coordinator Sheri Sankner, the group held meetings in the early morning before school. Green Team merged with the student Lighthouse Team when PS 31 initiated the Leader in Me program in 2016. Through this transition, Green Team expanded to include more community service. The school renamed it to the Leaders of Change. The Leaders of Change meet in enrichment class during 7th period every Friday, in groups organized according to grade level, all run by our committed and passionate teachers Ms. Sankner and Mrs. Tesoriero.
During December, the 3-5th grade Leaders of Change gathered their upcycled decorations made out of old CDs and crafts, and walked to our neighborhood Polish and Slavic Senior Center, Krakus. After settling in and greeting Krakus’ Education Coordinator, students went up one by one to add their handmade decoration to the tree, with the assistance of an elder. During lunchtime, many students asked, “Can we sit with the seniors?”
A handful of students, including those that speak Polish fluently, sat with senior Wanda, a children’s book author, who gifted a copy of her book to one of our 4th grade students, Laila. Laila eagerly asked me for a pen, “I’m going to ask her to sign it for me. This is so cool!” Laila served as a translator from Polish to English between myself and Wanda. Another student, Axel who only speaks English, listened attentively and responded to Wanda’s body language and facial expressions. I was amazed at the patience, enthusiasm and respect given to the elders considering the language barrier for some.
After lunch, students organized in the front of the cafeteria to sing rehearsed Christmas carols. Three songs were in English, one in Polish, and one in Spanish. They ended their mini concert by bowing and saying Merry Christmas in Polish, “Wesołych Świąt!”. One student, joyously asked as we were gathering our things to leave, “When’s the next field trip?!”
This was the third community service field trip we took during the holiday season. Leaders of Change also hung their upcycled ornaments on the trees outside the 94 Police Precinct earlier in December. As the students and officers were working together to hang the glitter decorated CD’s and construction paper snowman on the evergreens, a store owner walked by and asked if the students could decorate the tree in their stationary store on Manhattan Ave. This was an unexpected and beautiful invitation for more community engagement and service. The police precinct and Krakus Center, we had decorated before, but this was the first opportunity to engage with a business in community service. How exciting! We gathered a smaller group of Leaders of Change, and even Principal Scarlato joined us in decorating the Christmas tree at P & P Stationary. The owners were generous in providing additional ribbon and ornaments to hang on the tree and were grateful for the kids’ impromptu singing of Jingle Bells. What a beautiful and festive way to celebrate the end of the fall semester.
