Woodhull Students Help Decorate Park
When the Town of Huntington came seeking volunteers to decorate the area around an 18-foot Norway spruce tree in Fair Meadow Park, Woodhull School art teacher Todd Hiscox jumped at the opportunity for a creative community service project.
Each day thousands of cars pass the park, which is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Park Avenue and Pulaski Road. The large spruce tree, donated two years ago by Clement Landscaping, was fitted with lights and illuminated simultaneously with trees at Town Hall and the Village Green. But, it was the decorative elements surrounding the Fair Meadow Park tree that caught many eyes.
After being contacted by the town, Mr. Hiscox brought the matter to the attention of students in Woodhull's early morning art studio workshop enrichment program. They, too, jumped at the chance to do something special for the community.
"I was so happy that the students were enthusiastic about the idea," said Councilwoman Glenda Jackson, who reached out to Woodhull School. "They are the first group of students to set the holiday mode at Fair Meadows Park in what I plan to be an annual event for other schools to follow."
"The children were genuinely excited to help decorate their own hometown," Mr. Hiscox said. "I feel this type of involvement from our children helps build an intrinsic caring for our own town's well-being. It was a pleasure to see the children so excited and filled with pride at the Huntington Town Board meeting."
The Woodhull group decided to create giant wooden snowflakes with joyful sayings to be placed around the huge spruce tree. Six different designs highlighted the themes of Hope, Friendship, Happiness, Love, Peace and Community. The blended colors used by the students were pleasing to the eye.
"When I drove by the display the day after the blizzard, the snowflakes looked so beautiful amongst the wintry landscape," Mr. Hiscox said. "It was nice to receive compliments from students that were not involved after they passed by the display during the holiday season."
"The holidays are a busy time for everyone and our teachers have many curricular demands on their programs," said Joan R. Fretz, district director of fine and performing arts. "That is why I was especially impressed that Mr. Hiscox responded immediately to the town's request for help. He worked with our buildings and grounds department to secure the wood, cut out all the giant snowflakes himself and created an exciting and meaningful project to help the town and involve our students in a community service experience."
The students in the morning art enrichment program include: Megan Erhardt, Nolan Piccola, Isabella Piccola, Angela LoScalzo, Katarina Obermaier, Rachel Moss, Mardine Mentor, Bella McGinniss, Sarah White, Lauren White, Amelia Reilly, Juliana Senia, Tierra Boccard, Alexis Archer, Sana Amin, Afroditi Mountanos, Lindsay Saginaw, Christina Varady, Nicole Muszynski, Sigrid Cassell and Myasia Gaskin.
"The students were very excited to help the town make the park grounds more festive for the holidays," Ms. Fretz said. "The beautiful snowflake decorations really made a wonderful contribution."
The Huntington Town Board honored Mr. Hiscox and the students during a recent public meeting of trustees. The Woodhull group was presented with a proclamation and individual certificates of appreciation for the artistic efforts.
"We've all heard the expression 'out of the mouths of babes' many times," Councilwoman Jackson said. "This time the saying should be modified to 'straight from the hearts of babes', as each and every one of the students has relayed to us sentiments not only for the holidays, but those that we should live by every day of the year."