A neighbor friend of mine called looking for a connection to gift students recently arriving from worn-torn countries. Her thought was that youngsters leaving so much behind might like a Beanie Baby that would fit in their pocket. She had been collecting hundreds over the years.
Little did she know when she called that Henry High has had over 70 students enroll from Ecuador the past two months. The contents of large totes of Beanies were loaded up for Henry. They were dispersed to excited and joyful Henry newbies by Ruth Oppenheimer, their loving interrupter and “bridge connector.” Conversations in classrooms spread throughout the building as the students learned English names of their stuffed animals, and they, in turn, shared the Spanish and Indigenous names with teachers and classmates.
Thank you to this special Northsider for her thoughtfulness and generosity. She wishes to be anonymous but was so happy to see photos of the students receiving and sharing their welcome gifts.