Students at Leo F. Giblyn Elementary School expressed their heartfelt gratitude to a visiting group of Freeport police officers with a special Adopt-A-Cop assembly that carried on a yearly tradition steeped in bettering community relations. ''We are very proud of our police department because we know that when we are in school, at home and out playing, we are safe," said Principal Amanda Muldowney in her introductory remarks.
The class president and vice president from each fourth-grade classroom read essays of appreciation for the visiting police regiment."We started this program 18 years ago, and some students from the early years are now Freeport police officers," noted Freeport Chief of Police Miguel Bermudez.
The Giblyn students, under the direction of Shannon Abramovitz, sang songs of thanks to the officers. They also honored them by creating police shield plaques etched in copper foil, which were prominently displayed around the stage during the assembly. After the adoption ceremony, the officers visited classrooms to answer questions and speak about their experiences and careers in uniform.
Nearly 40 officers participate in this program, which reaches out to the students of all four Freeport elementary schools to nurture an atmosphere of comfort and trust between students and law enforcement.
