BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—The borough’s school district is joining the nation in participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Jan. 21.
The district’s 800-plus students will participate in a variety of hands-on activities to give back to the community.
According to Laurence Gander, World Language supervisor and media specialist at Woodcliff Middle School, the district’s goal is “to teach every student that they too can make a difference in the world and that it is never to early to start.”
Gander told Pascack Press on Jan. 9 that middle school students will make Blizzard Boxes for Meals on Wheels, pack backpacks for Midnight Run, make pillowcases for Ryan’s Case for Smiles, make blankets for babies for Binky Patrol, and knit blankets for Strengthen our Sisters Women’s Shelter.
A Blizzard Box is an assortment of donated non-perishable food items packed into shoe boxes, which are delivered to the 220 recipients of Meals on Wheels’ Home Delivered Meals Program in case normal food deliveries are halted due to weather-related or other emergencies.
In addition, students will have an opportunity to work with Woodcliff Lake seniors by documenting their lives through video, helping with their technological needs, and teaching them about STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math.
(According to the U.S. Department of Education, “In a world that’s becoming increasingly complex, where success is driven not only by what you know but by what you can do with what you know, it’s more important than ever for our youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information. These are the types of skills that students learn by studying science, technology, engineering, and math—subjects collectively known as STEM.”)
Students also will visit seniors in local senior communities, participating in many activities.
Gander said Nicole Hreno, district supervisor of curriculum, instruction, and staff development, has a lively Elementary Day of Service planned as well. Dorchester students will give back to their communities by:
- Decorating place mats and cards for Meals on Wheels,
- Making valentines for a local senior center,
- Writing letters to people in need through The World Needs More Love Letters, and
- Collaborating with middle school students on empathy-centered activities.
The Day of Service is sponsored by the Parent Faculty Organization and Wegman’s.
“The Woodcliff Lake School District is eager to give back to the community, which supports their students in all their endeavors,” Gander told Pascack Press.
“This is our first attempt at being part of the Day of Service, so the kids aren’t really aware of what they are going to do,” she said.
She explained that the effort continues the school’s Character Education Day, which took place in October and leveraged a reading of “I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives” by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch.
Students discussed the book then studied what others had done to change people’s lives, explored how people live throughout the world, and wrote to children in a Darfuri refugee camp.
“We were lucky enough to also have one of the authors come speak to our students. Our motto for the day was ‘I can make a world of difference.’ In essence, now we are showing them how to make a difference,” Gander said.