Thanksgiving in the schoolyard, by Nathan Weiser

PS 676 held a Thanksgiving celebration on a windy day in the schoolyard for community, parents and students.

The food at this event was a real group effort provided by many people and local organizations.

The food was a combination of homemade dishes from parents and school staff as well as donations from Redemption Church Red Hook, Red Hook Art Project and Hometown BBQ.

Dishes that parents contributed included roasted turkey, rice and peas, curry chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, maduros (sweet plantains), empanadas, cookies and brownies. The PS 676 PTA helped plan the event.

The kindergarten and second grade classes made gratitude signs that hung on a gate in the schoolyard. Each of the students wrote what they were thankful for and made a drawing for this Thanksgiving themed activity.

Other community partners that helped were Pioneer Works, Cora Dance, PortSide New York, Brooklyn Public Library and NY Project Hope.

NY Project Hope (Coping with Covid) had a table with information. They help people cope with many different issues COVID related.

They offer individual crisis counseling, community outreach and engagement and an emotional support helpline (347-201-2208) to help callers talk through their emotions and find resources to help them cope with the challenges of COVID. It is a program of the NYS Office of Mental Health that was founded by FEMA.

The Red Hook branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (7 Wolcott Street) was signing people up for library cards and giving out information about their events. They will be having a holiday photo booth for families at 1 pm on December 18. The librarian gave out tote bags and bookmarks.
PortSide New York has been a PS 676 partner for a few years. Carolina Salguero, the founder and executive director, brought free books from her pop-up library at PortSide Park.

Pioneer Works, the cultural center located at 159 Pioneer Street, brought materials to make mosaics using beans, seeds and rice.

Pioneer Works’s partnership with PS 676 started on October 30 when Jacqueline Coston (K-12 education associate) met the PS 676 social worker at a Halloween event.

“We had a group come through, Brooklyn Raga Massive, and they did a live performance workshop with their fourth and fifth graders here,” Coston said. “This is the second event that we have been able to be part of here at the school.”

Coston said a few kids had built their gardens and wrote notes of gratitude. Pioneer Works had two tables with different materials to use and kids were making little mosaics with the rice and beans that was provided that they could design into shapes and a few people were rolling the smudges.

“It is a hands on, interactive art project that they can do,” Coston said. “We tried to keep it harvest themed with natural elements.”

Pioneer Works closed on December 1 for major construction, but are relocating to a remote location nearby at 133 Imlay Street. They will be open for smaller scale programming at the remote location.

“Despite the temperature and wind, we were able to share a meal with our school families and Red Hook community and express to them how thankful we are for their support throughout the year,” parent coordinator Marie Hueston said.