MEMORIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL CREATING SCHOOL SUPPLY KITS FOR CHILDREN IN IRAQ AND HAITI

PTO: “It’s Heartwarming to See Kids Helping Kids During the Holidays”

December 16, 2004, Middlebury/Southbury—The student government at Memorial Middle School in Middlebury, in cooperation with the MMS Parent-Teacher Organization, is making much-needed school supply kits for children in Iraq and Haiti. The students and staff selected the two charities: Operation Iraqi Children and AmeriCares Hurricane Relief for the Children of Haiti and are collecting the school items in the homerooms.

“Michelle Kahn and I brought this humbling idea to the student government which is advised by sixth-grade teachers Luke Duval and Cheryl Warner,” said MMS PTO president Suzanne Kenishea. “They all jumped at the chance to help—we have the most giving students and staff. It’s heartwarming to see kids helping kids during this holiday season. In fact, the original plan was to help the Iraqi children, but our students came up with the idea to include the Haitian children by themselves.”

The school supply kits will be a gift to the children of Iraq in their time of need, as well as to the children in Haiti following this year’s devastation of their country by Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne. Each completed kit will contain: one pair of blunt-end scissors, one 12” ruler with metric measurements, a dozen new #2 lead pencils with erasers, one small pencil sharpener, one large eraser, one box of colored pencils, one package of notebook paper, one composition book, three folders with pockets, one zippered pencil bag, and one 2-gallon zipper seal plastic bag. The items are being collected individually and students do not have to donate all the items of a complete kit.

“Having our students bring in school items really drives home the point that the Iraqi and Haitian children need basic supplies,” said Lindsay Teardo, chairperson of the Memorial Middle School student government charity committee. “Many of the boxes in the home rooms are overflowing with donations. I’m really proud of Memorial’s participation.”