By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – A lesson for second-graders at the Asher Holmes Elementary School showed pupils what it means to be thankful during the holiday season.
Terry Gross, who has taught second grade at Asher Holmes for 23 years, was the leader in a lesson that focused the children’s efforts on being thoughtful of those who protect the United States.
With the guidance of second grade teachers Jena Aitala, Lisa Bruzzichesi, Dawn Esposito, Madelaine Jaffe and Sharon Kozlosky, the entire second grade class wrote letters to and collected donations for American military personnel.
The items collected by the children included toiletries such as razors, shampoo and toothbrushes. According to Gross, each student wrote between three and five letters to military personnel.
Gross said she has a connection to the military with Tina Dominguez, whose son, Tony, serves in the U.S. Army and is scheduled to be redeployed within the next couple of weeks.
On Dec. 17, Dominguez visited the school to pick up the letters and toiletries and was greeted by the entire second grade. Some of the pupils read the letters they had written. The children sang “Thank You, Soldier” and saluted at the end of the performance.
“It is a special thing for me to be able to organize something with our colleagues who played as much a part as I and we have demonstrated what it is to be a good citizen,” Gross said. “You can do something and make a difference. Somewhere a young man or woman will be using their razor or shampoo and reading their letter and thinking that somebody cares. That is your gift, being able to say thank you to somebody for giving their life for you.”
“Thank you to the teachers and the children for the beautiful presentation,” Dominguez said. “I hope in some small way I touched the students the way they touched me. I am overwhelmed with joy in my heart for all their generosity, compassion and support. I cried for about a half-hour after I left; tears of joy and patriotism.”
“We wanted to say thank you to the students, teachers and parents who took the time to write letters and collect donations,” Principal JoAnn Cilmi said. “It was very heartwarming to see our students present the letters and the donations to Mrs. Dominguez. It was nice to see that during this busy holiday season they could think of others and show their appreciation to those who protect us and to show what it means to be thankful and good citizens.”
