Students find many ways
to show their patriotism
By JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE –– On most weekdays, borough residents wouldn’t see anything out of the ordinary while driving along Washington Avenue to Sayreville Middle School.

The usual lines of buses and cars picking up students after school are always present. And the crowd of athletes waiting for a bus to take them to a game is normal.

Lately, however, residents have encountered an unusual scene at the middle school.

Now, they are taking a second look when they notice the long strips of red, white and blue paper that line the windows of the fifth- and sixth-grade rooms. The words "All kinds, all ages, all together" appear in large letters, calling to mind that horrific day in September when America was challenged by acts of terrorism, forcing the nation to come together.

After Sept. 11, school officials promptly assembled a patriotism committee in order to help instill a sense of pride and patriotism in the students.

The largest project since that tragic day has been the construction of a 7-by-10-foot quilt, which includes a red or white square from each homeroom in the school. Each student and teacher signed their names on the square, along with the number of their homeroom. Meredith Kwitkoski, a math teacher at the middle school, then spent a weekend sewing the squares together to make an American flag quilt.

The flag hangs in the main lobby of the school, flanked on both sides by artificial evergreen trees covered in red, white and blue ribbons and surrounded by red and white mums, decorated with blue cloth.

"We figured it was a good way to get kids involved," Kwitkoski said.

Sept. 11 was a difficult day everywhere, and it was also a hectic day at the middle school, according to school Principal Dr. Frank Alfano, as about one-third of the students were removed from school that day by their parents. All other children were personally escorted to their front door if a parent did not pick them up or meet them at their bus stop.

"It was scary," sixth-grader Allison Lefton recalled. "Some kids started crying."

Teachers were told to turn their televisions off that day. Although they did explain to students what had happened at the World Trade Center, they did not go into detail, eighth-grader Patrick Comey said.

Alfano said that students have written more than 1,000 letters to emergency personnel in New York during English classes. Some English classes have also written essays titled "What America Means to Me."

"We’re showing [patriotism] more now than during the Fourth of July because the nation’s in crisis," sixth-grade student Robert Clarke said.

Kathy Mazur, a teacher and public relations liaison at the middle school, said that altogether the school has made about 4,000 paper stars to hang on the walls and windows. Students have written phrases like "God bless America" and "United we stand" on some stars, as well as their names, and arranged them on walls to spell out patriotic messages, she said.

Students in art classes have also painted patriotic scenes on the windows of the school.

The students are selling American flags and ribbons during their lunch periods in an effort to raise funds for the organization Children Helping Children, Mazur said. A vote was taken by each homeroom to determine where students would like to donate money, and Children Helping Children won the vote, she said. Each homeroom also has a collection jar to add to the funds.

All proceeds earned by the annual Walk-a-Thon on Oct. 13 will be donated to the charity as well, said Katherine Jasontek, seventh-grade teacher and student council adviser. The event will take place between 9 a.m. and noon, starting at the middle school. The 3-mile walk goes around the high school and Kennedy Park. Anyone is welcome to join, Jasontek said. The cost is $5 per person, and gift certificates from various local businesses will be given as prizes.

Also, money collected for the middle school dance on Oct. 19 will be given to charity.

In an effort to continue the spread of patriotism, the school band will be playing patriotic music during its winter concert, according to eighth-grade student Richard Gulick.

Students at the middle school are hoping that the expression of patriotism will not wane over time, and they are doing their part to keep the spirit alive.

"I think we have to keep our patriotism no matter what happens," Clarke said. "We have to keep faith in our country."