Maple Hill students support troops and kids in Iraq

MIDDLETOWN — Morale has been higher among some soldiers and children in Iraq, thanks to a fourth-grade class from Maple Hill Elementary School in Middletown.

Gail Sgandurra is a teacher at Maple Hill. Ever since her son-in-law, Lt. Andrew Holler, has been stationed in Iraq (almost a year) her classes have sent Lt. Holler and the soldiers in his company gifts — paper turkeys for Thanksgiving and paper poinsettias for Christmas. Sgandurra received word from Iraq that these gifts were happily received by the soldiers.

This year, Sgandurra's fourth-grade class reached out to little Iraqi children, as well, by sending 48 goodie bags for the soldiers to hand out.

Lt. Holler said that it doesn't take much to make the children who live in this devastated area happy. So these students used their own class money to purchase cookies, chocolate, crayons, bouncy balls and party noisemakers. They packaged their gifts and Sgandurra mailed them off to Iraq.

The students are excited knowing that they've done something that will make other children, who live in a dangerous place, happy.
RecordOnline