By Gresa Shala
On Feb.9, we held an assembly and library dedication for our great hero, Evelyn Morris King, at our school. It was the day of her 90th birthday and we also celebrated another important holiday, Martin Luther King Day.
In an interview with Ms. Hill, our school principal, I asked why she chose to dedicate our library to Ms. King. Ms. Hill told me that Ms. King is a “notable person” in the Stapleton community, an educator and simply a “lover of books.” Ms. Hill said that she didn’t know Ms. King that well but has grown to know her quite well through what she’s learned from other teachers and others in our community who have worked with Ms. King. Ms. Hill also met with Ms. King’s son, Kenneth King, several times before the assembly. Ms. Hill said, “The Evelyn Morris King assembly gave the school pride. My only hope is that one of our students will have something significant named after (him or her).”
As classes and teachers were filing into the auditorium, I heard the murmur of guests coming from our community: Politicians, friends, and people from the College of Staten Island’s Gear Up Program. At the beginning of the assembly, Ms. Hill said a few words. After that, the color guard came and presented their colors while we recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Schwartz, our orchestra teacher, played the national anthem with his own twist using his saxophone. With a tremendous voice and a great amount of courage, Ms. I’sha Clinton sang what was Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite song and what is considered the Black National Anthem, “Lift everyVoice.” Ms. Hill then welcomed our guests.
Mrs. Mercil presented Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Jones and Mrs. Evelyn Haley the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award for their devotion and generous support to our school. Mrs. Hill said that we (the school) can always count on these three individuals to be at every P.T.A meeting, support the school Magnet Program, chaperone trips, donate to any events we have at the school and help with any senior activities. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Jones and Mrs. Haley are all examples of parents who are extraordinary.
North Shore Councilman Michael E. McMahon came up to the podium to declare our library the Evelyn Morris King Library. He has funded our school library, providing a great deal of money to help with the renovation and modernization of the library, which hopefully will be done by the end of next year. Councilman McMahon’s continues to support I.S. 49 and the Stapleton community.
Next, there was a surprise concert with the members of our school staff. Mr. Profilio, an art teacher at our school, performed on his drums, while Mr. Schwartz played on his saxophone. Mr. French, who has known Mrs. King for years, performed on the bongos in unison playing “Footprints” by composer Wayne Shorter.
Last but not least students from class 720 (from the Journalism Academy) presented some selected readings of their original work, including essays, poems and a slide show. The students who presented were Aaleiyah Kennedy, Tammy Lo and Stephanie Chin. Chante Spence also showed us her PowerPoint presentation about Mrs. King’s accomplishments, family and awards. These students who did presentations about Mrs. King had researched her life, with the help of Mrs. Keag, through Staten Island Advance articles.
Mr. DiCrescento and class 718 did a video presentation, complete with interviews, and dedicated it to Mrs. King. Mrs. Brandonisio and students from class 722 painted a beautiful mural of Mrs. King and her life, which will be hung in the library. She said that they had to do a lot of research on Mrs. King’s life achievements, and then they tried to paint it on the mural. Mrs. Brandonisio said that the best part of the whole project was when they went to the assembly and actually got to meet Mrs. King in person. She said that she thanked them and was really grateful. “I think they were honored to be in the presence of such a legend,” said Mrs. Brandonisio.
Bintu Fofanah was one of the students that helped paint the mural. She said, “I thought it was fun and exciting. She (Mrs. King) was very sweet and reminded me of my grandmother.”
Mrs. McMillan, the math coach at IS 49, was just one of the many teachers that helped make this assembly possible. She said, “I thought that it was very enlightening and it was very personal to me because I’m familiar with Mrs. King through working in the community. I thought that it was a wonderful tribute to an outstanding woman whose mantra is love.”
At the end of the assembly, with the audience participation, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Mrs. King. This really finished the assembly on a high note. After the assembly was over, Ms. King and guests went to the library for refreshments and more celebrating.
Cyndi Chin of class 720 attended the assembly, which she said she enjoyed. “The assembly was amazing and I was honored to be there as a guest.”
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