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Partly Cloudy Meadowbrook students connect with veterans
For the 10th year, veterans from the Salisbury Gardens Senior Center and VFW Post No. 2736 paid a visit to Meadowbrook Elementary School to share their experiences with students on Nov. 10.
The veterans set up tables of materials and artifacts in the gymnasium for students to browse and hear stories about the nation’s wars of the past.
In return, students expressed their appreciation for the local veterans who served the nation.
Students in the first-grade classes of Pat Fulco and Antoinette Van Roten presented the veterans with special gifts. Fulco’s first-graders gave them bags of candy, which will be delivered to veterans at A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Center in Uniondale.
Van Roten’s students hand-crafted crossword puzzle books that were made in the shape of American flags. Just as the candy bags, these homemade books will be given to veterans at the nursing home.
“The questions they ask and the concern they have for veterans is fantastic,” said Steve Gismondi of VFW Post No. 2736.
Donna Derry, a staff member at Meadowbrook, organized the event as part of the Hand-in-Hand program, which links students to members of the Salisbury Gardens Senior Center. She explained that from meeting the veterans, students gain a perspective that cannot be duplicated by books and films. “They are amazed that this is reality and that this happened,” she said.
