December 19 was a special day at the Harbor Middle School/PS 676.
A holiday hallway was set up leading to the auditorium, with performances followed by fun in the cafeteria.
The program was titled Nutcracker 2.0: A Harbor Holiday Experience. The student council president and eighth grade advocate welcomed everyone and introduced each of the three acts of the showcase.
The Theater Club took the stage first and performed “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing” from Beetlejuice Jr. That performance was a preview of their upcoming spring musical Beetlejuice Jr. The solo performance was “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Next, everyone walked over to the cafeteria where there were school club stations, stations from local organizations as well as holiday crafts, cookies and hot cocoa.
The school debate team had a station. They had prepared topics on a slide show on the computer. Some of them were pizza or bagels, Yankees or Mets, and pie or cake.
Those who wanted to could spar with the team. A topic that are going to debate at their first tournament on January 14 was wether NYC should support farm to table initiatives in school cafeterias.
The next station featured New York Edge. They started their partnership with the middle school during this school year. There was an art gallery featuring 10 winter and Christmas themed paintings by the students for everyone to see.
Pioneer Works, a non-profit cultural arts center in Red Hook was there.
The suggestion at their table was to make a snowflake with the oil pastels and then branch off from there. Students were creative with the many colors available and themes that they decided to pursue. Some did snowflakes another drew a beach with trees, clouds, birds and the sunset.
Billion Oyster Project (BOP) presented shells to look at from around the New York City harbor. BOP works with schools all over the city to get connected to the water.
By 2035, BOP wants to engage one million people to restore one billion oysters in the New York Harbor.
The Green Team/Future Farmers club also had a station. They collect, track and analyze data to monitor plant growth, water quality and system health.
Future Farmers regularly harvest fresh produce that support the school and broader community. The program reinforces the belief of healthy, fresh food as a human right.
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