Maddie knows what dogs like - treats and tennis balls (to play fetch with!) - because her family includes Wilbur von Smooch, a Boston terrier, and Sugar Ray Frank, a German shepherd. She plans on purchasing some items like these with her mom to donate to the SPCA of Westchester, to help the organization care for dogs who are waiting for a home.
The sixth grader found out about this way to help animals through John Jay Middle School’s Animal Care Club. She and other members of the afterschool club, advised by teacher Jane Williams, are decorating collection boxes for the school's reception area, so others can help animals, too.
This is only one way that Katonah-Lewisboro’s schools, students, staff and parents care for others, particularly during November and December. The mosaic of support includes gift cards for essentials for local families in need, toys for critically ill children, winter coats for Lakota people in North Dakota, and baby clothes for children of incarcerated women at Bedford Correctional Facility.
If help and hope can be measured in weight, KLSD collected nearly 1,000 pounds of it, in the form of non-perishable food brought to the Community Center of Northern Westchester for distribution to neighbors in need. Special thanks to the families of Katonah Elementary, Meadow Pond Elementary and John Jay High School’s Best Buddies Club!
The importance of gratitude and helping others—in ways large and small—is supported through elementary-level read alouds, morning meetings and classroom discussions.
“Practicing gratitude is an important component to social-emotional learning (SEL),” said Jocelyn Lividini, the elementary-level curriculum integration leader for SEL. “We specifically want students to connect how giving and receiving kindness is a positive way to build relationships.”
Lividini points to the book all Increase Miller Elementary classes are reading this December: “The Sound of Kindness,” by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. “One reason why we chose this book is because we want students to see how kindness-in-action can be including others at recess, helping a friend during math, or even sharing words of encouragement.”
While KLSD parents do much of the purchasing for food and gift drives, the good feelings of giving are felt by students, too. “My second grader Livi is so excited for it,” said Jessica Turkel, about Meadow Pond Elementary’s toy collection for children at the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla.
Katonah Elementary’s PTO offers an additional way for students to get involved in giving. They sponsor a Wrap Night, where students help sort and wrap books, toys and other items that have been purchased for local families in need.
“It is a wonderful event to experience the gift of giving,” said school social worker Jessica Fulton.
💙 Find more ways KLSD Gives Back on the District's Facebook and Instagram