WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 8, 2018 15
Ridgewood school sends artwork to Florida shooting victims
Students at I.S. 93 Ridgewood make a banner to send to the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
– THE GREATER RIDGEWOOD HISTORICAL SOCIETY –
·BOOK SIGNING·
Sunday, March 11 2018
From 2 - 4 PM
Molly Grattan,
Contributor
and GRHS volunteer
Limited Books
will be available
. . . . . . .
$3.00 donation
Members & Service Families
and Veterans
FREE
. . . . . . .
AT THE ONDERDONK HOUSE
1820 FLUSHING AVENUE,
RIDGEWOOD
718-456-1776
www.onderdonkhouse.org
Supported in part, by public funds from
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs,
in partnership with the City Council Council Districts 34 and 30
Directions
1820 Flushing Avenue, Ridgewood, Corner of Flushing and Onderdonk Avenues.
Subway: L to Jefferson Street, then walk five blocks north along Flushing Avenue.
Bus: Q54 to Flushing and Metropolitan Avenues. B57 to Flushing and Onderdonk Avenues.
Photo courtesy of Meredith Kroll
– THE GREATER RIDGEWOOD HISTORICAL SOCIETY –
����������������������������������������
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Saturday, March 10, 2018
From 1 - 5 PM
Living History Program
The Ministers of Apollo
Musicians, artists,
and historians will bring
the past into the present.
Explore Colonial America
through Music!
Kid Friendly –
Hands on Activities
$5.00 donation.
Children, Members &
Service Families and Veterans
Free
AT THE ONDERDONK HOUSE
1820 FLUSHING AVENUE,
RIDGEWOOD 718-456-1776
www.onderdonkhouse.org
Supported in part, by public funds from
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs,
in partnership with the City Council
Antonio Reynoso and Elizabeth Crowley, Council Members
Directions
1820 Flushing Avenue, Ridgewood, Corner of Flushing and Onderdonk Avenues
Subway: L to Jefferson Street, then walk five blocks north along Flushing Avenue.
Bus: Q54 to Flushing and Metropolitan Avenues. B57 to Flushing and Onderdonk Avenues.
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Nationwide support for the
community of Parkland, Florida,
aft er a gunman opened
fi re and took 17 lives inside Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School has
come in all forms, including letters of
support, donations to grieving families,
a meeting with the president and
now a work of art from the students of
a Ridgewood middle school.
At I.S. 93 Ridgewood, art teacher
Meredith Kroll and her students
spent a week creating a banner with
drawings and messages of support and
hope, and on March 5 they mailed it to
the recovering Florida school. Kroll
said that as an educator and a parent,
the way she felt when returning to her
school building aft er the February
break made her want to take action.
"Even when I returned to the building
it was just somber," Kroll said. "I
didn't feel like myself, and I'm so far
removed and I still felt it so strongly."
But Kroll wasn't as far removed as
most. Her husband is related to 14-yearold
Alyssa Alhadeff , a freshman at
the school who was killed during the
shooting. During the February recess,
Kroll and her husband — a teacher in
Ridgewood at I.S. 77 — fl ew down to
Florida to attend the funeral.
The scene there was incredibly emotional,
Kroll said, as so many students,
faculty and family members were at
the funeral service that the aisles of
the church were full and there were
people standing outside. She described
Alhadeff as an avid soccer player, a
great friend and an honor student
with an "incredibly bright future."
"So many friends got up to speak
about her character," Kroll said. "It
was wonderful to hear the stories, but
it was the saddest funeral I could have
ever expected to go to."
The shooting reignited the national
debate about about gun control legislation,
and many students and members
of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
community have been the leaders of
that charge. Alyssa's mother, Lori Alhadeff
, became one of the faces of the
movement when she gave an emotional
statement demanding change during
an interview with CNN the day aft er
the shooting.
Creating the banner allowed Kroll
to open up this conversation to her
students as well. She said the group
discussed what it would feel like to be
in the shoes of those Marjory Stoneman
Douglas students returning to school after
this tragedy and sympathizing with
them. Most of Kroll's students were
curious about the shooter, what drove
him to do something so unimaginable
and the warning signs of his behavior.
Kroll added that the conversation
also touched on school safety, and she
hopes such incidents lead to students
taking safety drills more seriously.
The banner stretches for nearly the
width of a classroom in I.S. 93 and is
covered with a colorful display of
hearts, eagles, inspirational quotes
and drawings. Kroll said that the
entire school was invited to come
into her room and participate
whenever they had free time.
The eagle, which is the mascot of
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School, became the lasting theme
of the banner when one of the students
found a quote that touched
them all:
"When a storm is coming, all
other birds seek shelter," it reads
in large letters on the top, left corner
of the banner. "The eagle alone
avoids the storm by flying above it,
so in the storms of life, may your
heart soar like an eagle."
