Students in grades three through five from Gardiners Avenue Elementary School put on a performance in mid-April at Salk Middle School in an effort to help a local family, whose lives were affected by the events of Sept. 11. Members of the Merkouris family, whose children attend Levittown's school, lost their father, George Merkouris, who was also a brother of one of the teachers in the district, as a result of the events of Sept. 11. Last October, two educators from Gardiners Avenue, Watson Miller and Jennifer Mann, were searching for a way to help both the Merkouris family and all children in the district deal with the tragedy. They decided to put on a performance entitled "Let's Go to the Movies," which both gave the students something to focus on and raised money to help the family.

The students at Gardiners Avenue spent countless hours over several months preparing for the performance, which came to fruition the weekend of April 17 at Salk Middle School. Students rehearsed every morning and spent numerous afternoons practicing for the performances. The teachers who worked with the students said that not once did they hear a complaint from anybody. Miller and Mann noted in the "showbill" handed out the night of the performances that "the children and parents of Gardiners Avenue School have demonstrated selfless commitment to the cause." The teachers added that they were pleased and honored to "watch our students grow as performers. They have truly enriched our lives and left us with memories we will have forever."

All three performances held that weekend were sold out and the students' and teachers' efforts raised $5,000 for the Merkouris family, which was presented to them during the final performance on April 19.

During the show, students performed scenes and selections from Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, The Lion King and Rent. The show was directed by Miller and Mann, with choreography by Marisa and Jennifer Mann. Set design was done by the students and parents of Gardiners Avenue School under the supervision of Karen Fuocco. Many parents stated that they were shocked by the great talent of these students, noting that Broadway has come to Long Island and it's right in Levittown.

"Through this experience, we wanted to bring our community together during a very somber time and open doors to our students which might not have been realized," Jennifer Mann said. "We feel that we have succeeded in doing both and know that the children will look back on this and know that they all had a very big part in a very special event."