P.S. 232 honors heroes

They serve their country, protecting the freedoms that all Americans hold dear.
And for that, veterans old and young — including octagenarian Lieutenant Rouke, who served in World War II — were honored at P.S. 232 in Howard Beach on Friday, November 14.
The second annual “Take a Veteran to School” event brought history — and heroes — right into the classroom.
“We honor the veterans who have made such a great sacrifice by inviting them ino the school,” said Carolynn Wilenski, the Science Lab teacher who launched the event last year in an effort to pay tribute to her own father, who served in the Korean War, and his fellow veterans.
“I thought it would be a great way to honor him and other veterans,” she said.
“Take a Veteran to School” day included an assembly, at which the vets, each a family member or friend of the school community, were presented with “thank you” cards prepared by the students. Later, they visited the fourth grade classes for a question-and-answer session; the children gave presentations of poems and sang the “Star Spangled Banner,” and the vets told stories of their service.
“The questions were so adorable,” said a proud Wilenski, who noted that a lot of the children at P.S. 232 have a parent on active duty.
“It’s a way to show respect and honor a way of bringing history into the classroom,” she said.
And as a means of outreach for those veterans that could not attend, Mike Honan, American Legion Queens County Commander, took the “thank yous” to veterans’ hospitals and other organizations.
“Anyone from the community with a veteran that would like to go with a child to our school [next year], we’d be happy to have them,” said Wilenski.
For more information, call the school at 718-848- 9247.