You could say students in Samantha Hall’s second grade classroom are not monkeying around when it comes to a fellow classmate who is out of school due to illness.
The students in the Menands Union Free School have adopted Gage Jr., a stuffed monkey, to keep the seat warm for their classmate, who has been out sick for several weeks.
“It helps our students to think of their friend and they leave notes on the desk and drawings for him, which we send home to student,” said Hall.
Student Jason Conoby spent a recent class seated next to the smiling stuffed monkey.
“I like that he is fluffy,” he said.
The concept of having a stuffed monkey in the classroom to help students remember a classmate is quite “a-peeling”, said Superintendent Jennifer Cannava.
“We always welcome ideas that promote thoughtfulness and kindness among our young scholars,” she said.