"We usually have assemblies for happy occasions, but today is not the case," were the solemn words Alma Rocha, Bayview Avenue Elementary School Vice Principal, used to open the special gathering commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001.
"We need to forget what makes us different and concentrate on what makes us the same," Steven M. Rampanelli, a guest speaker from the Freeport Police Department, told the students gathered in the auditorium. The children listened intently to the words of those who were changed by the experience of 9/11. "The people in the military are the true heroes, they protect us 24/7... My advice to you is to be friendly and give to people. Love and take care of your family," added honored guest Firefighter Bobby Senn. The other honored guests were Michael Smith of the Freeport Fire Department and Thomas Williams, a retired fire marshal whose daughter Mysti Vakkas-Williams is a teacher at Bayview.
The program featured singing performances from students Hannah Robinson ("America the Beautiful") and Kerry Stuparich ("The Star Spangled Banner") and the viewing of a student-narrated slide show timelining the construction and eventual destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Teacher Geraldine LaPenne, who orchestrated the assembly, narrated "The Little Chapel That Stood" by A.B. Curtiss, a short story derived from a poem that describes the enduring and reassuring presence of St. Paul's Chapel in lower Manhattan from the 1760's through September 11, 2001 to the present.
Closing the assembly, reading teacher Andrea Parisi explained an upcoming culminating activity where each class will decorate a piece of a larger puzzle that, when put together, will create a mural of the Twin Towers to be displayed in the school lobby.