Feeding Students' Burning Desire To Learn: Senator Murphy Helps Celebrate Furnace Woods' 50th Anniversary Celebration

CORTLANDT MANOR, NY – Senator Terrence Murphy joined faculty, students and guests at Furnace Woods Elementary School in Cortlandt Manor on May 12th to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary.

As part of a yearlong celebration, students organized monthly "Acts of Kindness." Every month since last September, students and staff participated in a variety of benevolent activities. The acts of kindness included compliment buckets in September, a run against hunger in October, pajama donations in November, providing holiday treats for the Peekskill Soup Kitchen in December, Valentine's Day cards for veterans in January, random acts of kindness in February, donations to animal shelters in March, participating in a relay for Life in April, and school grounds beautification in May, with School Community Day ahead in June.

"It bodes well for Furnace Woods' future when students, parents, faculty members and retirees all join together to celebrate it's past history," Senator Murphy said. "Furnace Woods has a long, distinguished record of providing students with an excellent education and inspiring them to take an active role in serving their community."

In addition to the monthly Acts of Kindness program, students and their parents have also embarked on a number of beautification projects on campus, including constructing a stone anchor design around the school's flagpole, designing tiles for a mural to be installed in the lobby, and creating the banner that graces the outside of the school building.