Mapleton celebrates the centennial mark of excellence

100 years of excellence was feted at P.S. 48 – The Mapleton School as teachers, students, alumni and District 20 school representatives shined a light on the school’s past and celebrated the future in an assembly held in the auditorium on Thursday, May 14.

The school’s Have-A-Heart Committee, which emphasizes respect and good deeds, appropriately began with a dance performance set to “Celebrate” by Kool and the Gang.

The assembly also included speeches by the student government, guest speakers and alumni, and performances by the fourth grade cadet and fifth grade concert bands.

Alumnus Christina Moore gave a speech on her experiences since she graduated 15 years ago as a fourth-generation P.S. 48 attendee, dating back to her great-grandmother.

“This school is just an unbelievable place to be,” said Moore. “Needless to say, P.S. 48 holds a really special place in my heart. I look at the foundation that this school has given me. It’s the reason I’ve been successful.”

Thomas Augustino, an alumnus who has gone on to become an accountant, also gave an enthusiastic, humorous speech to the children.

“I know that I am grateful for the education that was given to me here,” said Augustino on the stage. “Public School 48 was not only where I got a ‘public school education,’ P.S. 48 wanted to give its students an experience that they would remember for the rest of their lives. As a 24-year-old Brooklyn-born, Brooklyn-raised Italian and Lithuanian boy with a Master’s degree in Accounting, let the record show that P.S. 48 has produced a fun, interesting accountant that you actually may enjoy talking to.”

The P.S. 48 Players – an ensemble of fourth and fifth graders who sing, dance and act – closed things out with a skit that revolved around songs and artists from 1915, tying into the school’s own “Mapleton” song.

Diane Picucci, school principal, commented that it was a glorious day that’d be remembered for years to come.

“The celebration is celebrating the children and their accomplishments, but also their memories,” said Picucci. “P.S. 48 provides a wonderful foundation for whatever future path they’ll take. Their early years are the most important because they provide the foundation for what they want to aspire to.”