![K-5 Students Create Valentines to Spread Love]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1581611661/bronxvilleschoolorg/qcprqfdp42amwduuw8gq/021320_valmain.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1581611661/bronxvilleschoolorg/qcprqfdp42amwduuw8gq/021320_valmain.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1581611661/bronxvilleschoolorg/qcprqfdp42amwduuw8gq/021320_valmain.jpg","width":521}])
Bronxville Elementary School students are spreading kindness and love by creating handmade Valentine’s Day cards for people in their school community and veterans around the country.
Spearheaded by the Student Council, the students distributed different materials, including pink and red construction paper and colored pencils, to each elementary school classroom. For the Valentines for Veterans project, kindergarten and first graders decorated their cards with heartfelt messages to thank veterans for their service and sacrifice to our country. Second through fifth graders decorated their cards with cheerful messages, expressing their gratitude to teachers, principals and staff for positively impacting their school community every day.
“I hope these projects spark kindness and thankfulness to the people in any community who work hard to positively impact the people around them,” said Derrick DiRienzo, Student Council adviser and fourth grade teacher.
The school simultaneously collected personal hygiene items for veterans, which will be brought to the James J. Peters VA Medical Center on Feb. 15.
DiRienzo said the projects were a way to engage students in meaningful conversations about what it means to be a good citizen, do something that makes someone else feel good and recognize the sacrifices that veterans have made to protect our freedom.