STUDENTS “LIT IT UP BLUE” AND PLANTED A PINWHEEL GARDEN

Gateway School celebrated the month of April by “Lighting it Up Blue” with a long, blue paper chain for Autism awareness and planting a Pinwheel Garden to bring attention to the issue of child abuse and neglect.

Gateway students constructed a blue chain with 482 links out of construction paper, tape and ingenuity. Said Educational Director J.B., “It’s amazing when our students come together to create something magnificent.” The chain was hung in Gateway, and teachers then hung 7 figures throughout the 482-link chain to represent the one in 68 children affected by autism in the United States.

The students didn’t stop their advocacy there: two weeks later, they decorated and planted a Pinwheel Garden as part of the Family Tree’s Abuse Prevention Month. Gateway’s Pinwheel Garden is still thriving. “The pinwheels always make me smile,” said Executive Assistant E.C., “The children did such a wonderful job.”

Autism Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month are both celebrated each April. Light it Up Blue is a program started by Autism Speaks, while Pinwheel Gardens are part of the Pinwheels for Prevention program through The Family Tree. Both initiatives are a way to increase knowledge and awareness and to generate discussion and support.

Gateway students are excited to be involved in the community and to make a difference through creativity and kinship. Visit Gateway School online at hasa.org/school to learn more.