Brooklyn Education: P.S. 127 dance festival brings joy to all

On June 9, P.S. 127 in Bay Ridge hosted its19th Annual Dance Festival. This year’s theme was “P.S. 127 Presents the Wonderful World of Disney,” and it was a huge success. Families, staff, students and local elected officials joined in the day of fun.

Mighty Milers from P.S. 686 Brooklyn School of Inquiry in Bensonhurst finished running the first-ever NYRR Kids’ Boardwalk Run in Coney Island last month. The NYRR Kids’ Boardwalk Run at the Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon welcomed hundreds of young runners from across the five boroughs.

Mighty Milers is a free, national running/walking program for children from Pre-K to Grade 8, where they can earn incentives–medals, certificates and t-shirts–as they achieve their mileage goals.

It’s designed to get kids moving and prevent obesity and illness. Participation in Mighty Milers helps kids build their self-esteem, and learn to make and reach personal goals.

Nearly 27,000 Mighty Milers in 116 schools and community centers in Brooklyn have cumulatively run almost one million miles during the 2014-2015 school year, an average of well over a “Marathon of Miles (26.2 miles)” per student.

At P.S. 686, the stats were impressive: 438 youngsters were able to run over 17,000 miles cumulatively this school year, an average of nearly 40 miles per student!

St. Ephrem School held its fourth annual “A Night for Hope” on May 29, in the gym, which has been renamed Monsignor Peter V. Kain Hall. Teachers Richard Diffendale and Jennifer Rizzuto coordinated the event this year.

Students from the third through seventh grades sang and danced, both individually and in groups. Some students showcased their musical talents by playing instruments.

T-shirts that bring awareness to pediatric cancer were sold, a lucky attendee won the sought-after 50/50 raffle, and gift baskets that were contributed by each grade were raffled off. The money raised from the event will benefit “Frankie’s Mission,” which honors the memory and mission of Frankie Loccisano, a St. Ephrem alum.

Narrows Community Theater is very happy to announce the winners of the 2015 Betty Kash Memorial Scholarship. Christopher Saad and Laura Downey are the graduating eighth graders who have been chosen from the student applications submitted for this year’s award. The award is presented in honor of Betty Kash, a longtime member of NCT who, along with her talents for performing and directing, loved working with children and sharing her talents and love of theater with them.

Christopher is graduating from St. Anselm Catholic Academy and will be attending the High School of Telecommunications, Arts and Technology in the fall.  Laura is also graduating from St. Anselm Catholic Academy. She will be attending Fontbonne Hall Academy in the fall.