Eagle Scout project serves Lawrence School District

Posted

Though Michael Simao didn’t attend the Number Two School in Inwood, which is now known as the Lawrence Primary School at the Number Two School, the Atlantic Beach resident and Lawrence High School senior decided to paint the building’s parking spaces lines and directional arrows for his Eagle Scout project.

“I wanted to give back to my school district and since four generations of my family have attended Lawrence schools I decided to do this,” Simao said, as he, a few friends, brothers Luther and Andrew Johnson, and Peter Wilson; his mother, Victoria Simao, his aunt Pam Makaea, uncle Richard Libbey and cousin, Carson Libbey, cleaned, painted and created five more parking spaces last Friday. There are now 70 stalls.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 121 in East Rockaway, Simao, 16, is trying to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor on the boy’s side of scouting. Among the criteria to qualify for Eagle Scout is to have at least 21 of the more than 100 badges available and plan, execute and complete a community service-oriented projected. Recipients include Oscar-winning movie producer and director Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the U.S; and astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon.

Simao, who has been in scouts since he was 9, starting with Cub Scout Pack 20 in Lawrence (now based in Hewlett), has earned 37 badges and is working on three more, according to his mother. “We are very proud of him, he’s the one who did it,” Victoria said, as she helped to organize the work.

The collaborative effort began around 9 a.m. and the work was completed at about 3:30 p.m. “It’s an amazing community effort,” said Christine Moore, the new principal of a school that houses about 400 first- and second-graders.

“This is something I did and I learned leadership skills and other skills I can use for the rest of my life,” Simao said.