Kindergartners working their way through their first day of class Wednesday at Washington Drive Primary School received gifts of handmade stuffed bears from the big kids in middle school.
The project began last year, said Kathryn McNally, principal of the Harborfields primary school, based on a suggestion from librarian Judy Boshnack.
“We want to foster kindness and help them have a wonderful experience,” she said. “We plan to make it a tradition.”
With the help of assistants Jean Amodeo, Sarah Zagaja and Suzann Ritchel, and Christy Roxo in the family and consumer sciences, the middle schoolers made and decorated 200 stuffed bears for the kindergartners.
The project was supported financially by the PTA. Next year, McNally said, the school will purchase bears, which will be decorated by the middle schoolers.
As McNally handed out the bears to one class, the children seated on the floor examined them and hugged them close.
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