WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 17, 2022 23
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Shortly aft er the new school opened,
the Evergreen Board of Trade (the
neighborhood adjacent to the school
was then known as Evergreen)
organized a fl ag presentation at the
P.S. 68 auditorium on April 10, 1908.
The elaborate program included a
performance by the Hebrew Orphan
Asylum band and a speech by Joseph
DeBragga, the commissioner of sewers
in Queens County. Pupils from grades
four through eight presented various
selections.
The P.S. 68 school community held
another grand celebration in March
2008 as they celebrated 100 years since
the current school building opened.
The Ridgewood Times reported on
the occasion in its March 27, 2008 issue.
“The celebrating began with the
start of the current school year, when
students arrived last September to
fi nd that mylar balloons — the kind
found at birthday parties — had been
tied to the fence outside the building at
59-09 St. Felix Ave., a location near the
Ridgewood/Glendale border.
Signs of a 100th birthday celebration
were all around when the current school
year began at Ridgewood’s P.S. 68, which
is marking its centennial. Principal
Anne-Marie Scalfaro (center) is pictured
with Assistant Principal Karen
Gleason (at left ) and Assistant Principal
Kathleen Murphy.
“The teachers brought them,” explained
Anne-Marie Scalfaro, now in
her second year as principal of P.S. 68,
regarding the message-bearing balloons
that had greeted students.
It’s an indication of the spirit that
seems to permeate the place, known
as the school where New York Yankees
legend Phil Rizzuto was a student and
Elsie O’Connor, the mother of actor Carroll
O’Connor, was a teacher.
Asked to cite the one thing about P.S.
68 that someone outside its community
would be unlikely to know, the principal
As Ridgewood’s P.S. 68 its centennial year in 2008, how teachers looked 100 years ago was demonstrated by
(from left) Kathleen Murphy, assistant principal; Karen Gleason, assistant principal; Anne-Marie Scalfaro,
principal; and Sandra Renda, third-grade teacher. Photo via Ridgewood Times archives
was quick to respond.
“The staff —we have a staff of teachers
who are dedicated to teaching children
and who are supportive of other teachers,”
said Scalfaro, who had been a
teacher at Ridgewood’s I.S. 93….
Since that first day of school last
September, every month at P.S. 68 has
seen some special event or activity that’s
tied in some way to the centennial while
refl ecting something particular to the
month.
To kick things off in fl ying fashion, September
saw a “Wishes on Wings” event
in which children assembled outside to
release 100 butterfl ies that had been purchased
solely for that purpose. The live
butterfl ies had been contained in small
blue-colored packets. In conjunction
with the release, the children made their
wishes, written onto paper butterfl ies.
October was harvest time and children
harvested facts about P.S. 68, which
they wrote on pumpkins.
It was a star spangled dance routine
as these kindergartners got into “The
Swim” of things at P.S. 68’s recent International
Dance Festival event.
For November, children listed 100 reasons
why they are thankful. In December,
they watched A Christmas Carol and
entered into a discussion about the past,
present and future.
January meant ringing in the New
Year with resolutions, followed by February’s
writing on hearts why it’s easy
to love coming to school at P.S. 68. In
addition, the 100th Day of School was
acknowledged during February.
March, a month known for shamrocks,
inspired a listing of 100 reasons
why the school’s population is lucky to
be at P.S. 68.
April has brought a showering of
poems about the venerable institution….
Within the last ten years, P.S. 68 has
enjoyed some relief from the overcrowding
that had made teaching a diffi cult
challenge for the educators who worked
there.
Not so long ago, there were approximately
1,100 students enrolled. Most did
their learning at the main building on St.
Felix Avenue, while two upper grades attended
an annex where Wertheimer was
assistant principal, located on Cypress
Avenue at the former site of the Ridgewood
post offi ce. P.S. 87 in Middle Village
provided space for another annex, one
that served kindergartners.
Improvements with structural
changes to the main building—among
them, the conversion of specialized
rooms such as the boys’ workshop and
girls’ sewing room into classrooms—plus
the construction of a mini-building
extension were factors in easing overcrowding.
In addition, the opening of a
new Ridgewood school, P.S. 239, and a
rezoning of Glendale’s P.S. 91 reduced the
numbers at P.S. 68….
Just as she is quick to credit the people
who work at P.S. 68, Scalfaro is grateful
for the contributions of her parent volunteers.
She mentioned the success of
a recent Family Bingo event, sponsored
by the Parents Teachers Association,
and the part that parents played in a
celebration of the birthday of Dr. Seuss.
Parents also take part in a Family Field
Day in June.
Among other P.S. 68 events, activities
and programs, Scalfaro cited the Parents
Craft s Club, a program that makes the
facilities of the school library available
to parents, and a program that includes
a math workshop for parents for whom
English is a second language.
In addition to the various events that
call for parental involvement, there’s
the School Leadership Team in which a
group of parents and teachers meet on
a monthly basis.
When it comes to building success
at a school, “It’s a team eff ort,” Scalfaro
beamed.
Sources: The Sept. 4, 1986 and March
27, 2008 Ridgewood Times.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or old
photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would like to
share with our readers, please write to
the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 38-
15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, or send
an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.
com. Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you upon
request.
A 1908 print of the former P.S. 68 schoolhouse, which was once School
#9 in the old Union Free School District 9
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