Chester students learn about 9/11

Last week, on September 11, students at the Chester Union Free School District spent the day discussing the 9/11 attack with their teachers and peers.

According to the school district, at Chester Academy, the day started off with announcements from Principal John Flanagan, which included an overview about the attacks and a moment of silence to honor all of the lives lost that day.

Teachers taught special lesson plans and shared their personal reflections and remembrances of the day.

“Personally, I wasn’t fully affected by 9/11, but being able to see how my teachers were affected and how they react and tell their stories, it was just really crazy,” said Reggie Go, a sophomore at Chester Academy. “One of my teachers, Mrs. DePaolis, she’s my Spanish teacher, she was telling me how she was a first responder there. How she helped out and couldn’t go home for about a week or two afterwards.”

Health teacher Jennifer Daly centered her classes around the long-term health effects of 9/11 and how those who were exposed to the debris have increased rates of certain cancers and other health problems.

“About three thousand people died that day,” said Daly. “At this point, almost twice as many people have died from health-related illnesses that they contracted while helping out at 9/11. The tragedy continues, so that is what we are talking about today.”

Students also learned about how researchers have identified more than 60 kinds of cancer and over two dozen other conditions that are linked to Ground Zero exposure, and about the World Trade Center Health Program that provides healthcare for 9/11-related illnesses for survivors.

Students from Elise Boyle’s and Elaine Lynch’s fourth-grade class at Chester Elementary School read an article titled “The Amazing Boat Rescue of September 11th” to learn about the heroic acts made by boat captains and crews, saving nearly half a million lives. They also heard about the many other efforts by civilians to help save people at the scene.

According to the school district, many students in the class had little or no knowledge about 9/11 prior to their lesson.

“I think it’s wonderful that they are doing this. I think Mrs. Boyle has a great presentation with the handouts she just gave everybody,” said Jean Gastman, a classroom aide at Chester Elementary. “It really gives them an idea of what this is really about because it’s pretty widespread ... It’s good to remember because it was a very devastating time, especially in the state of New York.”