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Smiles

Celebrating Greeley’s Senior Class in Style: A Car Parade Filled with Community Love

June 14, 2020 by Lauren Rosh

Horace Greeley High School Seniors (L-R) Charlotte Templeton, Emma Rosh, Georgia Goldstein

On Friday, June 12,  families, residents and visitors to the town of Chappaqua gathered together to show their love and support for Horace Greeley High School’s 2020 graduating class through an early evening car parade.

While the line of cars made its way down Route 117 and King Street and Greeley Avenue, parents and guardians sat behind the wheel as their seniors stuck their heads out the window or through sunroofs to either wave back at all the well wishers or to simply absorb all of the excitement around them.

Caryn Shapiro, parent of Horace Greeley senior Lily Shapiro, said, “the car parade was a silver lining that came out of this pandemic. It was such an amazing event that brought the whole community together to celebrate our seniors who have lost the fun traditions that make the spring of senior year so special.”

According to Horace Greeley PTA Vice Chair Suzanne Lodge, the Chappaqua PTA worked together with the Chappaqua Central School District and in cooperation with the Town of New Castle and its police department to organize the parade in order to replace the traditional celebrations this year’s graduating class is missing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This led to the senior class car parade.

“We had seen other districts do the same thing but we also wanted to follow New York State guidelines, so I spoke to the New Castle Police Department and they were super supportive,” said Lodge.

Teachers at Horace Greeley High School waving and cheering for the senior class

Lodge managed the event and worked closely with community members, teachers, parents, seniors and the police department to ensure the car parade was well organized and successful.

Seniors and their families slowly began to roll into the Chappaqua train station parking lot around 5 p.m. Students painted the exteriors of the cars to celebrate their accomplishments.

Senior Charlotte Templeton said the car parade was “a great time and fun way to see classmates while celebrating being a senior.”

As more people filed into the parking spots, the noise level and energy built. Once the police officers leading the parade motioned for everyone to head back into their cars, the honking began.

The parade route started at the train station, weaved through town and ended at Horace Greeley High School. Throughout town, members of the community lined the streets with noise-makers, signs and cameras.

Cheers and shouts from community members combined with cars honking created a symphony that brought smiles to seniors’ faces.

When the seniors pulled into the high school, teachers greeted them by honking their horns right back at them and cheering loudly.

Lodge said the PTA advertised the parade in the town superintendent’s note of the week and in the elementary and middle school newsletters this week. The note encouraged community members to come out and cheer for the seniors while wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines.

Community members in town showing their support for the senior class

Senior Lily Shapiro, daughter of Caryn Shapiro, said, “it was so fun to watch the whole town come together for the first time in a while, socially distanced of course, to celebrate the seniors.”

Lisa Kassin, parent of a Horace Greeley junior and college freshman, lined the parade route with her family to cheer on the seniors.

“My family had so much fun watching on Route 117 and cheering for the entire class of 2020. Seeing the smiles on the seniors’ faces while they stood through the sunroofs of their decked out cars was the best part of the parade,” said Kassin.

Before the parade Lodge said, “we are so excited to finally be celebrating these kids, they’ve worked so hard for so long and we were feeling a little disappointed they would not be having their usual accolades but I think Mother Nature agreed that they need a celebration because today is going to be a beautiful day.”

Although “Honk for Seniors” is traditionally held on the first and last days of school at Horace Greeley, this car parade may become a new way of holding the event and celebrating the seniors in the future.

“I think ‘honk for seniors’ may have been more special than ever before, and I think this would be an awesome tradition to have each year,” said Lily Shapiro.

 

Filed Under: New Castle News, Stay Connected Tagged With: car parade, Chappaqua, Class of 2020, community, Honk for Seniors, Honking, Horace Greeley High School, seniors, Smiles, Teachers

Capturing, Yes, SMILES Galore in a Pandemic, Thanks to #TheFrontPorchProject

April 4, 2020 by Lauren Rosh

Photographers Donna Mueller and Randi Childs and a growing group of photographers are bringing smiles to families’ faces through the #TheFrontPorchProject.

“The purpose of this project is to bring us together during this difficult time, put a smile on people’s faces by capturing a moment they can always look back on and also know that by taking part they also helped another family,” explained Mueller.

Lynda Lederer-Natale and her family used their portrait as an opportunity to show off their Pleasantville Pride. Each of them wore a Pleasantville shirt and even their dog was sporting a green, Pleasantville bandana. The Lederer-Natale family felt this was an opportunity to give back to their community by donating to Pleasantville Strong, a coalition that offers peer counseling and aims to reduce underage drinking, drug use and other unhealthy behaviors.

“I am not saying that because of this situation kids are going to become addicted, however, they will need this when they get back, they will need these resources next year,” said Lederer-Natale.

Photographer Donna Mueller
The Natale family. PHOTO by Donna Mueller
The Wolf family with Donna Mueller photographing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning About #TheFrontPorchProject

We are currently facing unprecedented circumstances and self-quarantining in our homes and social distancing has become a new way of living. However, it is during these times that photographers participating with #TheFrontPorchProject are saying it’s important to remember to smile, too. And hundreds of residents and business owners are embracing that message, and participating. The pictures can also serve as a historical and life affirming record of families and businesses persevering during a pandemic.

The initiative, started by photographer Cara Soulia of Needham, Massachusetts, has inspired photographers worldwide to participate. Soulia launched the initiative as a way to lift people’s spirits during this difficult time. After reading an article about this, Mueller and Childs both had the idea of bringing it here as a way to give back to the community at large.

Inspiring Community Unity

Photographer Randi Childs

Childs explained that the way our community unifies in times of crisis is inspiring. “It is absolutely amazing that we can come together in such a beautiful way in a time of need.”

Childs put a post on Facebook about the project and asked if there were any other photographers who would like to help out. That is how she formed her team with Carolyn Simpson and Debra Baron. These women help Childs organize her time slots and take photographs. As a part of this project, photographers go to people’s homes and photograph them on their porch, stoop or front steps.

The Sadiks. PHOTO by Randi Childs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some families include a picture of a rainbow indicating this storm will pass and others hold up posters they made saying ‘Be Safe’ or ‘Miss You.’ One family that participated held up signs they made thanking essential workers.

The Novick Family PHOTO by Randi Childs

For Holly Boes, a family portrait was something to look forward to. “It made for a bright and shiny spot during a dark time and now we have been able to pay it forward,” said Boes.

In exchange for the photographs, families are making donations to local businesses of their choice through the purchase of a gift certificate and passing it along to someone they know who is out of work during this pandemic, donating directly to the business or to a particular cause.

The photographers’ goal with the donation aspect of the project is to personalize it and allow people to donate to local businesses and causes they believe in.

High school principals, nurses and teachers have all taken part in this project and now Mueller is getting small businesses in the mix. On Monday April 6, she is visiting local businesses and members of the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce, and photographing them in front of their storefronts.

The demand for #TheFrontPorchProject is continuing to grow. Since March 24, Mueller has captured 80 families and has a list of another 70 families she will visit within the next seven to 10 days. Childs had 18 shoots scheduled in one day and welcomed Baron and Simpson to help her manage the requests.

This project has a great impact on families, both who participate and those who just view the gallery. #TheFrontPorchProject has accomplished the photographers’ mission of bringing positivity into people’s days during challenging times.

Lederer-Natale said, “life is short and you have to capture it moment by moment. Although this may not be a moment that you want to remember going on, in the future we can look back on this family photo and say, ‘it’s okay, it will get better.’”

 

To view #FrontPorchProject pics by Randi Childs:

https://www.facebook.com/randichildsphotography/

To view #FrontPorchProject pics by Donna Mueller:

https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMuellerPhotography/

 

Filed Under: Surviving COVID-19 Tagged With: #FrontPorchProject, donate, donations, Donna Mueller, family portraits, Front Steps, Pandemic, Photographers, photography, Pleasantville Pride, Pleasantville Strong, Randi Childs, Smiles, Stoop, Time slots

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