BY CHERYL SHUMWAY
North Country This Week

NORWOOD – Several hundred students, parents, teachers and community volunteers packed the two Norwood-Norfolk cafeterias on Wednesday for the school’s first ever Back2School event.

Students received free school supplies, books, haircuts, face painting, cotton candy, snow cones, and gently used clothes, thanks to donations from the community.

School, community, and sports organizations shared information and signed up children for programs. Many health organizations were also on hand, including Dr. T Bear and puppet friends from the St. Lawrence Health System.

Children could get their photos taken and be fingerprinted to get photo ID cards with St. Lawrence County Sheriff Department’s Operation Safe Child program. They could also tour the fire trucks outside.

Three licensed hairstylists and two cosmetology students provided free haircuts to close to 50 children so they could look spiffy on their first day of school.

[img_assist|nid=264828|title=|desc=|link=none|align=middle|width=1200|height=881]Isadora Vezina has her photo taken by the St. Lawrence County Sheriff Department’s Operation Safe Child to make a photo identification card at Norwood-Norfolk Central School’s Back2School event Wednesday.

Many local businesses and organizations donated supplies, including Massena’s Arconic employees who purchased 50 backpacks containing sneakers and undergarments. The American Federation of Teachers were among donors of the many free books given out.

The event was organized by the Community Lunch Program for Kids, serving students in Norwood, Norfolk and Raymondville. Coordinator Wendy Chambers said, “It is our hope to level the playing field for the children living in poverty and provide them with the necessary tools to succeed in school.”

Several other schools in St. Lawrence County also hosted back to school events this year, modeled after Massena Central School’s successful program initiated last year.