Elementary School Celebrates 'Five Days of Peace and Goodwill'

Following a beloved annual tradition, students at the Phillips Avenue Elementary School celebrated "Five Days of Peace and Good Will" last week. 

Every day last week, students received gifts, either the kind they could hold, such as books, small toys, or sweatshirts, or the kind they could hold in their hearts and minds forever, such as a performance by the "Mad Scientist" on Tuesday.

"The gifts that our students receive are from some amazing organizations and people that embrace the spirit of giving. Throughout the week," said Phillips Avenue Principal Debra Rodgers, "we encourage our students to find ways that they can give as well as receive."

As part of the fun, kids wore funny hats and acted in a play "The Little Gingerbread Man, " in both Spanish and English, for their parents.

All of the Phillips students also received a toothbrush and toothpaste from the Stony Brook Dental Van, which was at the school to provide dental services for those students who signed up for the dental exams given by the residents from the SBU School of Dentistry in November. 

A highlight of the week came when Santa arrived in a gift-filled tractor trailer, rather than a sleigh.

"This group of people have supported our school in the past, but they really out did our wildest expectations today," Rodgers said.

According to Joe Rabb, one of Santa's helpers, the donations come from a number of sources.

"We receive about 600 letters to Santa from children. The letters differentiate between what the children 'need' and what they 'want'. We try to give them some of both. Then the shopping and the wrapping begins. The smallest children get a huge red bag full of gifts, and the older children get a duffle bag full of gifts. Some of the most common needs are hats, coats, and gloves."

Rabb said 100 percent of donations go directly to children.