Schools
Oquenock Elementary Students, PTA are a Busy, Giving Group
For the past several months several efforts to help the community have been taking place.
The following was provided by Sam Coppola, Oquenock PTA President.
This holiday season, the students and families of Oquenock Elementary School in West Islip have been focused on giving back to the community.
Dozens of pumpkins were left over after the Oquenock PTA's annual Halloween pumpkin sale on October 24. The remaining pumpkins were donated to the Babylon Beach House Assisted Living Facility. Several classrooms were able to decorate pumpkins prior to their donation & many of the pumpkins were donated un-decorated. Luckily, the delivery arrived just in time for craft day at the BBH and all 50 of the residents had a great time painting pumpkins for Halloween.
The PTA Community Outreach Committee organized a food drive this Thanksgiving. With the help of Oquenock's secretary Mrs. Schneider, fifth grade teacher Mr. Haas, dozens of students and several parents, the committee was able to prepare twenty six baskets to distribute throughout the community. The students were given the opportunity to decorate the outside of all the baskets with cheery messages BS holiday pictures. Turkey decorations were donated by the local Boy Scout troops to embellish the baskets.
This year's Holiday Cocoa night was also an opportunity to give back to the community. On Friday December 13, students, faculty and their families were invited to spend the evening at Oquenock eating cookies, drinking cocoa, making a gingerbread craft and visiting with Santa. The children were treated to the reading of a holiday book by building principal, Mr. Maniscalco. The children and families were invited to wear their pajamas and also to bring a new pair of pajamas as their price of admission. All pajamas were donated to The Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive (pajamaprogram.org) and matched by Scholastic with the donation of a new book. As a result of the generosity of all in attendance, a total of 100 pajamas and books were donated to children in need.
We are so thankful for the amazing sense of community among the Oquenock families!
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