GRADS
realized the last time I was
in the building would have
been the last time I was there,
I would have treated that day
differently,’” said Cohen.
The project was the brainchild
of the parents, said the
principal, who lauded the
team for rushing to bring the
display to fruition.
“I give all the credit to our
parents,” Cohen said. “They
were turning around ideas of
what schools from outside of
New York City were doing.”
After several days of printing,
laminating, and hanging
the portraits, the display was
fi nally ready for primetime on
May 6 — when socially distant
visitors could walk past the
outdoor display, which spans
the entirety of the school’s
frontage on Bedford Avenue
and halfway down Quentin
Avenue.
“We kept telling everyone
we have a surprise coming, we
have a surprise coming,” Cohen
said, “because we didn’t
want anyone to know what we
were really working on.”
Students have since been
visiting the school to take pictures
with their portrait, and
Cohen said the project has
COURIER L 16 IFE, MAY 15-21, 2020
even brought joy to drivers
and pedestrians passing by.
“Seniors have been showing
up and taking pictures
next to their picture,” Cohen
said, “or looking at other kids
and saying, ‘I know him, I
know her.’”
With the help of the school’s
alumni network, the James
Madison administration is
also hosting a virtual graduation
ceremony for the class on
June 24, in addition to a senior
barbecue on August 2 — provided
that the pandemic eases
up in time.
“The incredible part about
the barbecue is we have a very
active school community,” Cohen
said. “Each department is
like, what can we buy for our
seniors for this barbecue. People
are just being so selfl ess.”
Cohen’s message to the seniors
fi nishing out their high
school careers remotely is to
keep looking ahead to the future
— which should be familiar
to James Madison students
as a popular slogan at
the school.
“We have a phrase that we
use at Madison, it’s ‘what’s
next,’” Cohen said, “and it’s
always about when you leave
one point, what are we striving
for next and I think that’s
really been keeping them going.”
Continued from page 1
School offi cials hang the portraits. Bruce Cotler
Visit us at: www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
Visit us at: www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
Visit us at: www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com
/www.cusimanoandrussofuneralhome.com