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Katy schools help Bridge City residents
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| West Memorial Elementary principal Kathy Leonard is thanked by Bridge City Intermediate principal Kent Broussard for her delivery of school supplies to the embattled school. |
By Scott Kaiser
Times Reporter
Once again, employees of Katy Independent School District have stepped up to aid victims of Hurricane Ike.
West Memorial Elementary principal Kathy Leonard and her staff were assisted by WoodCreek Elementary, Mayde Creek Elementary, Bear Creek Elementary, McRoberts Elementary and Pattison Elementary in twice delivering school supplies to Bridge City’s Sims Elementary.
Meanwhile, the McMeans National Junior Honor Society organized a food and clothing drive under the direction of sixth-grade social studies teacher Jennifer Sarria.
Two weeks ago Sarria and her 10-year-old niece, Katelyn, delivered food to her hometown. Last Saturday, they took more than 70 bags of clothing and shoes to the impoverished town.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Leonard said about the charitable efforts in the school district. “Katy is a remarkable community, and we have a remarkable school.”
Leonard learned of Bridge City’s plight through her nephew, who is a good friend of Sims Elementary principal Kent Broussard.
“Once I talked to him, it just pulled on my heart strings,” Leonard said. “I knew we had to do something.”
Sims Elementary was under four feet of water due to flooding from Ike. Not only did the school lose much of its supplies, but the teachers lost many of their personal belongings.
Sims Elementary is now a cluster of portables in the parking lot of the high school stadium. They have no playground, gym, cafeteria or library.
“I contacted my buds (fellow principals), and they’ve come through with all kinds of items,” Leonard said. “A teacher got a $400 donation from the Texas Association of Teachers and Educators just by writing a letter, and another got Scholastic to donate new books. It’s just been a remarkable effort.”
Leonard and teacher Jennifer Lopez made trips to Bridge City last Saturday and Tuesday with school goods and “everything else you can imagine.”
“I couldn’t use my rearview mirror because my car was so packed,” Leonard said.
Once she arrived at Sims Elementary, Leonard was greeted as if she was a general who had just freed a country.
“You should have seen those teachers,” Leonard said. “They were so excited going through those boxes. They were just so grateful.”
While driving in and around the city, Leonard and Lopez saw dead alligators strewn along the roads and signs that warned drivers to watch out for cows on the highway.
“Nobody can understand what it’s like,” Leonard said. “I took pictures, but it doesn’t do it justice. They’ve lost everything. People’s belongings are in their front yards and you see signs of 'Need Help,' and you don’t know whether it’s someone’s grandmother or what.”
Sims Elementary can still use items such as small dry-erase boards, student pencil boxes, plastic storage boxes and grade-specific teaching tools, and West Memorial is taking any and all donations.
“One of my teachers stopped me in the hall (Thursday) and asked when I was going back,” Leonard said. “Hopefully we can go in another week or so because it’s one of those things you just have to do.”
Sarria’s deliveries were also important. The non-perishable food dropped off two weeks ago aided those whose stoves and refrigerators were either not working or under water.
The clothing delivery not only gave children clothing to wear for the opening of school on Wednesday, but allowed adults to wear clean clothes since their washing machines don’t work.
In a letter to McMeans, the Bridge City councilmen expressed their “awe that a student body would work so diligently to help hundreds of children and adults.”
West Memorial Elementary principal Kathy Leonard and her staff were assisted by WoodCreek Elementary, Mayde Creek Elementary, Bear Creek Elementary, McRoberts Elementary and Pattison Elementary in twice delivering school supplies to Bridge City’s Sims Elementary.
Meanwhile, the McMeans National Junior Honor Society organized a food and clothing drive under the direction of sixth-grade social studies teacher Jennifer Sarria.
Two weeks ago Sarria and her 10-year-old niece, Katelyn, delivered food to her hometown. Last Saturday, they took more than 70 bags of clothing and shoes to the impoverished town.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Leonard said about the charitable efforts in the school district. “Katy is a remarkable community, and we have a remarkable school.”
Leonard learned of Bridge City’s plight through her nephew, who is a good friend of Sims Elementary principal Kent Broussard.
“Once I talked to him, it just pulled on my heart strings,” Leonard said. “I knew we had to do something.”
Sims Elementary was under four feet of water due to flooding from Ike. Not only did the school lose much of its supplies, but the teachers lost many of their personal belongings.
Sims Elementary is now a cluster of portables in the parking lot of the high school stadium. They have no playground, gym, cafeteria or library.
“I contacted my buds (fellow principals), and they’ve come through with all kinds of items,” Leonard said. “A teacher got a $400 donation from the Texas Association of Teachers and Educators just by writing a letter, and another got Scholastic to donate new books. It’s just been a remarkable effort.”
Leonard and teacher Jennifer Lopez made trips to Bridge City last Saturday and Tuesday with school goods and “everything else you can imagine.”
“I couldn’t use my rearview mirror because my car was so packed,” Leonard said.
Once she arrived at Sims Elementary, Leonard was greeted as if she was a general who had just freed a country.
“You should have seen those teachers,” Leonard said. “They were so excited going through those boxes. They were just so grateful.”
While driving in and around the city, Leonard and Lopez saw dead alligators strewn along the roads and signs that warned drivers to watch out for cows on the highway.
“Nobody can understand what it’s like,” Leonard said. “I took pictures, but it doesn’t do it justice. They’ve lost everything. People’s belongings are in their front yards and you see signs of 'Need Help,' and you don’t know whether it’s someone’s grandmother or what.”
Sims Elementary can still use items such as small dry-erase boards, student pencil boxes, plastic storage boxes and grade-specific teaching tools, and West Memorial is taking any and all donations.
“One of my teachers stopped me in the hall (Thursday) and asked when I was going back,” Leonard said. “Hopefully we can go in another week or so because it’s one of those things you just have to do.”
Sarria’s deliveries were also important. The non-perishable food dropped off two weeks ago aided those whose stoves and refrigerators were either not working or under water.
The clothing delivery not only gave children clothing to wear for the opening of school on Wednesday, but allowed adults to wear clean clothes since their washing machines don’t work.
In a letter to McMeans, the Bridge City councilmen expressed their “awe that a student body would work so diligently to help hundreds of children and adults.”
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