Press Release

Release Date: March 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susie Pickering

Oak Lane Day School

137 Stenton Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422

Phone: 610-825-1055

Fax: 610-825-9288

Email: spickering@oaklanedayschool.org

Oak Lane Day School Sends Hot Meals and Warm Wishes to the Elderly Homebound

Imagine preparing dinner for 321. Now, imagine it being done by 94 chefs and sous-chefs who are mostly under the age of 12. This was not only imagined but achieved by the students (with some help from their teachers) at Oak Lane Day School. February is the month of Lasagna Day: the community service project in which the school community prepares meals for donation to Aid for Friends, an organization that provides free services to the needy, disabled, and elderly homebound of Southeast Pennsylvania.

A week before Lasagna Day, a call went out to the Oak Lane families requesting supplies. A large table was set out in front of the school office, and, by the end of the week, there was a bountiful accumulation of boxes of noodles and jars of tomato and applesauce. The school's refrigerators and freezers were stuffed with mozzarella and ricotta cheese and frozen peas. In the morning of Lasagna Day, the students and teachers gathered in the library to listen as Community Service Project Director Sherry Shaeffer set their appointed tasks for the three stages of the project.

First, younger students were paired with older, and the classrooms were abuzz with hard work and good spirits as 20 large pans of lasagna were assembled. The dishes were baked in shifts in the school's three ovens. As the lasagna cooled, the pre-primary through first grade students worked on stage two by placing servings of applesauce and peas into individual meal trays. In stage three, the second through sixth grade students formed an efficient assembly line as they carried the trays to teachers who dished out the lasagna.

Finally, the children carefully wrapped the trays in foil and placed them in plastic bags along with re-heating instructions. At the end of the day, all 321 meals were packed into the freezers in preparation of being delivered to Aid for Friends over the weekend.

A great deal of organization is needed to prepare for and run this wonderful day. Sherry Shaeffer is Oak Lane's point person, but she certainly gives credit where credit is due: "I've been doing this project for years, and it still amazes me how much good work gets done, how well the children handle themselves, and how supportive and responsive the students' parents are when we ask them for help." Lasagna Day is a time-honored tradition at Oak Lane Day School and one that clearly shows the power of a community acting as a whole for the greater good.

Oak Lane Day School Information

An independent elementary school, founded in 1916 and located in Blue Bell, Oak Lane Day School serves a diverse population of boys and girls. Oak Lane honors each child's unique individuality while fostering intellectual, creative, academic, and personal growth within a diverse community of active, engaged learners. Small class sizes and an atmosphere that encourages children to develop their academic and social skills are priorities at Oak Lane, where learning is a meaningful and joyous pursuit. Oak Lane's country-like property of 30 acres along Butler Pike and Stenton Avenue boasts a stream, pond, woods, meadows, and specimen trees as well as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Oak Lane Day School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS).