Three Gates Chili students were among those recognized at the Do The Right Thing award ceremony in February. The program is sponsored by the Rochester Police Department and recognizes students who have gone above and beyond to do the right thing.
Xovian Rosario, 2nd Grade
Walt Disney Elementary School
Xovian was nominated for being a leader and compassionate friend last school year by Chelsea Sullivan, the social worker at his previous school, Helendale Road Primary School in East Irondequoit. Ms. Sullivan said that Xovian was a leader in his 1st grade classroom. He routinely made great decisions and was a good friend to everyone. When a new student moved into their school, Xovian went out of his way to make friends with this student and help him through his transition. The new student demonstrated some very difficult behaviors, including explosive outbursts and volatile language, but that did not deter Xovian. He vocalized that he wanted everyone in his class to feel welcome and included. Xovian saved a seat for the new student at lunch every day and made sure to ask him to play at recess and include him in games.
Before this school year began, Xovian and his family moved, making him the new student at Walt Disney Elementary School. His teacher there, Ms. Snyder, said that Xovian is an amazing addition to their class community. She said he was a leader from his first day, and he continues to be an inclusive and compassionate student. She said he works hard each and every day in school, completing all work to the best of his ability, is a forward thinker, makes thoughtful connections to everything they are learning in class, and adds wonderful ideas to all content topics. Ms. Snyder said that Xovian is kind and intelligent, and she is so grateful to be his teacher.
Brennan Day and Raymond Hagstrom, 12th Grade
Gates Chili High School
Brennan and Raymond are best friends who were nominated by their neighbor, Phyllis Magri, for the compassion and maturity they displayed when she suffered a medical incident. One afternoon at the end of August, Raymond and Brennan were riding their bikes home after cross-country practice. As they were riding, they heard a woman calling for help. They stopped and searched the area until they found the elderly woman in her garage, where she had fallen. She was injured and bleeding profusely from her head. Both young men immediately took action. Raymond called 911 and stayed with Ms. Magri, while Brennan retrieved some items to help control the bleeding. Both made sure she didn’t get up and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. A few days later, they bought a bouquet of roses and brought them to the hospital to give to her. When they found out she had been released, they went to her home, gifting her the flowers and making sure she was ok. Ms. Magri was so impressed by their actions, both on the day she fell and the compassion they displayed afterwards. She said they are her angels.
Any student enrolled in grades K-12 in any school within Monroe County is eligible for nomination. Students may be nominated for incidents that have occurred within one year of the nomination, and the act must have occurred within Monroe County. Anyone over 18 years old can nominate a student, and nominations are accepted throughout the year.
For more information, visit Cityofrochester.gov/DoTheRightThing.
Note: The group photos below are much better quality than the individual photos.
