Japan's Smallest Super Hero: Abigail Rodriquez

Six-year-old Abigail Rodriquez wants to save the world.

The first grader at George Washington School in West Hempstead aspires to be a super hero when she grows up.

"Like Wonder Woman," she says. "I want to help people from fires and waves."

It was a wave as tall as building crashing down on the coast of Japan that inspired Abigail,  her father and her fellow schoomates to take action.

"I saw it on TV," she said, raising her hands above her head as she spoke of the massive tsunami wave. 

While the school decided not to divulge too much information about the disaster to its youngest students, some, like Abigail, did catch some of the news stories.

Abigail's teacher, Maureen Cosenza, spent the days after the tsunami-earthquake in Japan last month fielding questions and concerns from her first graders about what happened overseas.

"We tried not to go into details," Cosenza said. "We didn't use the e-word ("earthquake") because we didn't want to worry them." 

She spent one day trying to calm down a child who had learned about the earthquake and was worried that a similar disaster could happen here. The school decided to use this as an opportunity to teach its students about the importance of helping others who are in need.

"Each teacher did a current events lesson on it and then a character development lesson on empathy," said Principal Theresa Ganley. 

Then, the Student Council started a collection drive, placing a large water jug in the hallway of the school, which each class would pass on its way to the cafeteria. At the suggestion of their teachers, for the five days the container sat there, many students forfeited over the quarters they usually use to purchase cookies at lunchtime.

"It was very sweet," Ganley said. "One thing you can always count on here is there is always a willingness to help, even more so after the fire," referring to the blaze that destroyed a portion of the school's classrooms this past summer.

The school also sent home flyers to the kids' families, making them aware of the collection drive. When Abigail's father, Rocky, saw the notice he too was motivated to help however he could.

He went to his computer and created his own flyer, using Japanese symbols and writing across it "Help Abigail's First Grade Class Collect on Behalf of Those Devastated in Japan."

He tacked the small sign to a big jar and brought it into the Western Beef where he works. Within days the container was overflowing with bills ranging from singles to twenties. Beaming, he brought it home to his daughter, who proudly marched into school the next day with the large donation.

When her classmates saw how much money she had collected in only a few days they gasped. Her teacher escorted her to the main drop-off point, where Abigail dumped the donations - over $50 - into the big jug. 

It wasn't until the principal was counting the money at the end of the week that she became aware of the substantial contribution Abigail's family and friends had made.

"I found this piece of crumbled paper at the bottom of the container," Ganley said. It was the flyer Abigail's father had made. At that point, she made a trip to Cosenza's classroom, where she spoke with little Abigail and learned her story.

Ganley presented Abigail with a Principal's Award "for caring so much," and took photos of her posing with an oversized check fashioned using her father's original flyer and reflecting the total amount the entire school raised - $505. The money was sent to the American Red Cross.

She then laminated the award and photos to create a collage that Abigail's father could display in his store. The once shy little girl is loving the positive attention, Ganley says, coming into school with a big smile on her face and talking to her principal every chance she can get.

Abigail admits she loves school. "I like to do the work," she says, adding that her favorite subjects are math and reading, especially books like Hop On Pop.

When asked how it felt to know that the money she brought in would help the people of Japan, she said she was "very,very, very happy."

"I'm proud of my daddy," she said.

Abigail hopes she can help more people in the future. If she can't be a cape-wearing super hero that can fly, stretch and become invisible, she says she'd like to become an astronaut or a teacher "just like Mrs. Cosenza."