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During the celebration, Master of Ceremonies Joe Bruno kept the celebration moving, and fun, by changing outfits several times like Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl, with each outfit featuring the district’s logo and colors.
A video presentation produced by Diane Hughes to the tune of the “Unforgettable,” played on the screen; students sang a song written about the school by music teacher Mary Landy, and elected officials bestowed proclamations on Hendrick Hudson Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter.
First and second graders read an explanation of how the school got its name, while fifth graders read poems they had written about Furnace Woods’ big birthday.
Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino joked with the crowd that when he arrived and saw all the balloons and happy birthday signs, “I thought it was for me because my 50th birthday was last week.”
Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi praised the students for celebrating the anniversary all year by performing acts of kindness such as making cards for veterans at the Veterans’ Home in Montrose and collecting food for an animal shelter.
“You learn that foundation right here at Furnace Woods. This is a terrific school,” Puglisi said.
State Sen. Terrence Murphy urged the students to “Dream big. Put your mind to it and whatever it is that you want to do, you can do it.” He also said, “You have no idea the smiles you put on the faces of those veterans who received your cards.”
Assemblywoman Sandra Galef talked about how different school was when Furnace Woods opened in 1967. “We had a lot of chalk boards and mimeograph machines to copy things and when someone asked you a question, you went to a big brown book called an encyclopedia to look it up,” Galef said.
After the presentations, attendees enjoyed refreshments including not one, but three, birthday cakes.
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