Port Chester Middle School winning students:
Danile Sabato, Jessica Aguilar, Emily Alves, Maria Moreira, Asbel
Juarez, Shamus Mott, Elizabeth Peralta, Griselda Reyes, Ramon Virute
and Kassandra MartinezPictured with (l.to r.) Carol Spedaliere,
Administrator at Port Chester Nursing Centre; Louise Piccolino,
M.S. Ed, School Counselor; Patrick Swift, Vice Principal; Domenick
Cicatelli, Deputy Mayor of Port Chester Front Row (l. to r.): Port
Chester Nursing Centre Residents: Ruth Alfinger, Marie Valente,
Theresa Calarco and Ruth Dunn
Port Chester Nursing Centre Residents Ruth Alfinger and
Marie
Valente present an award.
|
Port Chester Middle Schoolers Treasure Their
Elders in Contest Sponsored by Port Chester Nursing and Rehablitation
Centre
“Hurry grandma, hurry/I made something
for you/I painted you a drawing/I painted it in blue.” That
is the first stanza of Maria Moreira’s winning entrant
to Port Chester Nursing and Rehablitation Centre’s “Treasure
Our Elders” creative expressions contest. The many talented
students at Port Chester Middle School participated in this
second annual contest, submitting essays, poetry, artwork,
and photography depicting what their elders mean to them.
Submissions
were as varied in their medium of expression as in their content.
They ranged from a poem about a positive experience in a nursing
home to a watercolor of a beloved grandparent and an essay
about how our society’s
elders should be respected. A common theme was the important
role that grandparents play in family life in our city’s
large community of ethnically rich families.
A panel of Port Chester Nursing residents
and staff members selected eleven submissions. The winners—Danile
Sabato, Jessica Aguilar, Emily Alves, Maria Moreira, Asbel
Juarez, Shamus Mott, Elizabeth Peralta, Griselda Reyes, Ramon
Virute, Kassandra Martinez and Gineza Franco—were invited
to an award ceremony at Port Chester Nursing and Rehabilitation
Centre.
On June 12, 2007, the residents of Port Chester
Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre gathered outside on the verdant
lawn with the winners and invited guests, that included Port
Chester Deputy Mayor Domenick Cicatelli. Smiles glowed on all
faces as the residents presented the winners with their cash
prizes and winner’s certificates.
“My grandma raised me when my father
and mother came to this country,” wrote Asbel Juarez
in “My Grandmother,” an essay expressing thanksgiving
for all her grandmother has done for her. To Ramon Virute,
grandparents are treasure troves of wisdom and love. Being
elderly is the best thing,” he wrote.
“We applaud the fact that these children
recognize the value in associating with the elderly,” declared
Carol Spedaliere, Port Chester Nursing’s Administrator,
who is encouraging intergenerational awareness in Port Chester.
The “Treasure Our Elders” contest
is only one facet of Port Chester Nursing’s Mentoring
Program, which works to integrate seniors and elders into each
other’s lives. Port Chester organizes regular student
visits to their Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre to assist
and talk with the residents. |
Front row, l. to r. Mekka Kandic and
Brittany Zayas; standing behind them are Carol Spedaliere,
Administrator at Port Chester Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre;
mom Meg Kandic; Mildred Tucci, Brittany’s
grandmother; and mom Bianca Zayas, Human Resource Director
at Port Chester Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre
|
Port Chester Youngsters
Demonstrate Remarkable Sensitivity and Concern for Seniors – One
Penny at a Time
On their own initiative, Mekka Kandic
and Brittany Zayas, two very enterprising and empathetic 9-
year olds undertook a penny drive to raise money for a gift
for the seniors at Port Chester Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre. These young
ladies regularly volunteer at Port Chester Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre
and they wanted to do something that would make a difference in residents’ lives.
Penny by penny they raised $180 and with that they bought a Karaoke machine to
add a little jazz to Port Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre. |
