A national campaign to raise awareness about Down syndrome came to the feet of students and staff at East Lake Elementary School in the Massapequa School District with the ultimate goal of making everyone more mindful.
Rock Your Socks Day is celebrated annually on March 21, the date chosen because people with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21. Students and staff were encouraged to wear colorful, crazy and mismatched socks to symbolize everyone’s
uniqueness.
In Denise Sicignano’s class, children did a Rock Your Socks painting activity, dabbing dots of color on paper socks to form their own unique and creative designs.
Kirsten Poveromo’s kindergartners first read “You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion” by Sofia Sanchez, then colored a paper sock and wrote about the qualities that make them special.
She also gave each child a mirror to encourage self-reflection while gaining appreciation for their unique traits.
Kelly Laura’s first-grade students recently filled out their compliment catcher, which reflects positive comments from other school staff about the class. As a reward, Rock Your Socks Day was also “stinky feet day,” so students could take off their sneakers and show off those crazy socks around the room.
Student council spearheaded a community service project to coincide with Rock Your Socks Day. They led a two-week sock drive for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and set up a donation box in the lobby for students and staff to donate socks for people of all ages.
