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Students honor retired teacher on Arbor Day
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Fourth-grade students at Hilltop Elementary performed a poetry skit about Johnny Appleseed during their Arbor Day celebration.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Mark Eddy, chairman of the Canfield Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board, joined the students to dedicate the tree they planted in memory of retired third-grade teacher Joanne Beranek.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.A class of fourth-grade students performed a tree rap song for special guests at their Arbor Day celebration May 20.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Fourth-grade students at Hilltop Elementary read the history of Arbor Day at a program presented May 20.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Fourth-grade students at Hilltop Elementary read poems they had written about trees for their Arbor Day program.
By ABBY SLANKER
The fourth-grade students at Hilltop Elementary celebrated Arbor Day May 20 by presenting a program and by honoring the memory of retired third-grade teacher Joanne Beranek by planting a tree in front of the school.
“Arbor Day is a celebration of a new beginning for fourth-graders. Here at Hilltop, we have watched you bloom and grow for five years. You planted roots here and through the years you have become stronger and stronger and now you are ready for a new beginning,” said Cathy Mowry, principal of Hilltop Elementary School.
Special guests at the program included Mark Eddy, chairman of the Canfield Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board, Nancy Brundage, secretary of the board and Nick Rosian, a member of the board.
Mayor Bill Kay was introduced by his grandson, fourth-grader Ethan Kalina, and presented a proclamation to Hilltop Elementary recognizing Arbor Day and stating that the school has helped the City of Canfield earn its 29th Tree City USA certification.
Canfield Local Schools Superintendent Dante Zambrini also addressed the students.
Each class prepared its own presentation for the program. Class by class, students presented the history of Arbor Day, read poems they had written about trees, read quotes from famous people or ones they had written themselves about trees, performed poetry skits, including one about Johnny Appleseed. One class performed a tree rap song in honor of Arbor Day.
The students also presented facts about Arbor Day. For example, it has been celebrated for more than 138 years, it originated in Nebraska City, Neb., and over 1 million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day.
To close the program, the students sang Ohio’s state song, “Beautiful Ohio.”
They then went outside to dedicate the newly-planted tree in honor of Beranek. The tree planted is a quanson cherry tree which will bloom pink flowers in the spring and the leaves will turn red in the fall.
According to Eddy, Canfield is the only community in Mahoning County to have the distinction of being a Tree City USA for 29 years.