Saw Mill students dance for life

Students at Saw Mill Road School have seen a lot of heartache over the past year, but that hasn't stopped them from dancing.

In a year dedicated to the memory of Michele Flatte, a beloved teacher who died suddenly at the age of 47 last June, students brought back an event close to Flatte's heart. S.O.U.L., Students Dedicate to Uplifting Lives is a club founded by Flatte for sixth-grade students, encouraging all to be community-minded and participate in charitable efforts toward helping others.

When Principal Frances Bennett was approached recently by parents in the fourth grade class to help Ian Mass, a fourth-grade student who has been battling cancer of the eye since second grade, she knew that resurrecting S.O.U.L's dance-a-thon was the perfect way to help. The event, which was organized by the sixth-grade classes, brought together students of all ages last Thursday. S.O.U.L hadn't held a dance-a-thon in several years, an event that was traditionally used to raise money for well recognized charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"The kids were really excited about having someone to do the dance-a-thon for that was close to them ... They've done it before with Make-A-Wish, and they were very proud of themselves for doing that, but to have someone so close to them, it really felt like they were making a difference for someone that they knew," Bennett said.

Donning T-shirts with phrases like "SOUL for Ian," students spent two hours dancing and having a good time.

"It was a fabulous event; the students all pulled together to help a fellow classmate and schoolmate in a very difficult time," Bennett said.

To participate in the event, families were asked to make a suggested donation of $10, or raise money with sponsor sheets that were also available. Parents also contributed snacks for the students to munch on while dancing the afternoon away.

The event raised just over $6,500, which will go directly to the Mass family. Ian, who has been a student at Saw Mill Road School since he started kindergarten in 2005, is now at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Bennett said that Ian's parents have essentially taken up residence at Sloan-Kettering. Ian was first diagnosed with cancer while in second grade, and he had to have his eye removed in third grade. But, with the support of his school mates and never-ending support of his family, people seem positive that Ian will soon be at school again.

"Our hope is that he is going to get better, and we'll see him before the year is out," Bennett said.

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