Read Your Heart Out Day – February 14th

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community heroes, librarieschangelives, literacy, touching lives, WongsWonders

In honor of Valentine’s Day and fostering love of literacy, several classes supported the school library’s endeavors to create the first annual Read Your Heart Out Day. Several local community heroes were invited to share their favorite book with 2nd and 3rd graders early in the morning. Many classes had community heroes from the Hartsdale Fire Department. Ms. Maldonado’s 2nd grade and Ms. D’Ariano’s 3rd grade classes were able to meet and hear Commissioner Chong from the White Plains Department of Public Safety.

Commissioner Chong read his favorite book aloud which happened to be about a police dog. After the reading, Ms. D’Ariano’s children were thrilled to be given their own book as a class gift. Highview was so honored to be the recipient of this experience. There is nothing better than when real life community heroes give back to their communities.

Hope’s House And The Makerspace

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citizenship, collaborationoration, community, creativity, giving back, makerspace, public school children, schoollibraries, service learning, touching lives, WongsWonders

The library was very fortunate to have sponsored a local retired teacher, Joan, who conducts earring workshops. Joan keeps active and like to continue teaching others in service learning projects that build citizenship and community. She conducts workshops with the Boy Scouts, local libraries and also does birthday parties and local events.

Children not only learned how to make earrings using creativity, dexterity, and fine motor skills, but more importantly scholars learned the significance of giving back to the community.Scholars had fun, were given a chance to be creative and learned through a hands on project that they have the ability to help others and have a positive impact on the world.

For every pair of earrings that students made, they were required to make another pair to donate. It was so adorable to hear 2nd and 3rd grader talking among themselves saying they were “donating” their work. This service learning project made the word donate come alive and children accurately grasped the sense of the word.

Hope’s House is a local domestic violence shelter for battered and abused women. By donating earrings, scholars help put a smile on someone’s face. Who would have thought that something so simple could be rewarding to all the participants involved.