Congratulations to the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library’s new citizens, citizenship scholarship winners, and Literacy students! Our 42 new citizens represent 13 countries from around the world and speak 7 languages. They attended the Literacy Department’s Citizenship Preparation class, taught by Ms. Ivette, and put in time and effort to study for their Naturalization exam and dedicate themselves to our great nation.
Many thanks to our elected officials for joining us on this special day and offering words of welcome & certificates of congratulations- Joseph Furnari on behalf of Senator Dean Murray, Assemblyman Joe DeStefano, Legislator Jim Mazzarella, and Councilman Dan Panico. We also received certificates from NYS dignitaries from the Governor to the County Executive. Daughters of the American Revolution, Erin Shaw, presented American flags.
Thank you to our special guests and attendees- WFHS chorus students sang the National Anthem and the WFHS Latin Dance Club performed a multicultural dance. We are grateful to WFSD for allowing us to host this year’s celebration at the High School! In addition, we celebrated and thanked our ENL teachers, childcare workers, Reading Buddies, and Literacy staff. We published our annual book of student writings, Words of Our Time, with a record 96 entries from our students. Three students read their essays during the ceremony and one of our talented students sang “A Part of Your World.”
Thanks to the MMSCL library trustees and administration for their support. Also, thanks to the generosity of donors from our community, as well as funds from our non-profit organization, the Community Family Literacy Project, we have the privilege of awarding citizenship scholarships to cover the $725 application fee to the Department of Homeland Security. Congratulations to this year’s scholarship winners and good luck on your journey to citizenship.
