Oakman Students Raise Funds to Help Japan

Kindergartners spend their first year in school learning their ABCs, making new friends and finding out what school is all about. And in the case of students, learning the importance of helping others in need.

Oakman kindergartners played a key role in helping the school to raise more than $1,000 to donate to victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, while learning about why they should help people half a world away.

The whole school played a role in the fund-raiser, with kindergartners holding the starring role. The Parent-Teacher Association held a pajama day fund-raiser and basket raffle, raising several hundred dollars, while the school collected money.

"The entire school had coin collections, and the entire school had money donations," explains Nadia Dakroub, parent liaison. "But the kindergartners are the ones that did something to sell."

One class of the school's youngest students, led by teacher Christine Rydlicki, made necklaces and bracelets to sell after school; the other class, led by Katia Beydoun, made bookmarks and sold bags of candy.

When asked why they did it, the students replied with big smiles on their faces: "For Japan!"

Dakroub said the effort is especially noteworthy because of both the size of the school and the students who attend.

"We are a school of only 277 students who are low-income, at-risk students," she said. "We may be small, but we have big hearts."