Saw Mill Students Chalk The Walk

Chalkboards may be a thing of the past in schools, so when youngsters at Saw Mill Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District were given chalk and a solid black canvas, it may have been an unfamiliar experience. But itt didn’t take long for them to figure out what to do.

Mill Road hosted Chalk the Walk on May 23, part of the Student Council’s Spirit Week activities. The long circular driveway in front of the school was closed off, and the more than 700 students were sent out to add some color. By the end of the day, the black pavement was hardly visible and the work spilled over onto the surrounding sidewalks.

The children were asked to share their Saw Mill pride. Students wrote their names, positive messages about the school and drew pictures such as peace signs, hearts and Sheldon, the school’s owl mascot. Others created acrostic poems using the school’s name.

“We wanted to give each of the students a chance to express why they loved Saw Mill, and they made it very clear how proud they are to go to school here,” said fifth-grade teacher Melissa Dwyer, who advises the Student Council along with teacher Stephanie Meehan and Assistant Principal Danica Brugge. “After school, I saw many students bringing their parents to the circle to show them their display of pride.”

Spirit Week also kicked off with Decorate a Banner Day. Each class created a banner to show Saw Mill pride, which were then hung throughout the cafeteria. Rounding out the week were sports jersey day, field day and wear your blue day.

Photos: North Bellmore School District