School District of the Chathams Spotlight:

Chatham Family and Consumer Science Teacher and Her Students Sew Masks for Chatham Nurses and Frontline Workers

Contributed by the School District of the Chathams

School District of the Chathams’ teachers may be remote but their efforts to engage students beyond the classroom emulates why it’s great to be a Chatham student. Chatham Middle School Family and Consumer Science teacher Pam McHugh is using her sewing skills to connect students and help keep others safe. Assembling a group of “sewing angels,” comprised of 8th graders, CHS students and alumni and their parents, McHugh and the group have sewn upwards of 1,000 masks since March.

Pam McHugh, Middle School Family and Consumer Science teacher

Mrs. McHugh already had been sewing and donating masks to the Front Line Sewing Angels, when Marguerite White, a CHS parent, was able to secure supplies from JOANN Fabrics and Crafts. The store donated and expedited almost 20 bolts of fabric, thread and elastic. Mrs. McHugh hosted a virtual training session for students and their parents. She also created a “How To” video to reference and share which allowed students to further engage friends and the community.

CHS 9th grader Ella Jones and her mom Megan sewed 150 masks and hosted a “lunch and sew” for her mom’s company that needed 365 masks. The company’s pharmacy warehouse workers in Memphis, TN, are working around the clock to ship chloroquine and azithromycin to hospitals. “Making masks is an easy and fun way to help people in the community. Everyone can get involved because there are so many people across the country that can use masks right now,” said Ella.

Megan and Ella Jones sewing 1 of 150 masks

This effort took on special meaning when Mrs. McHugh learned that a number of Chatham High School graduates who are nurses at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in Manhattan were in dire need of masks. Isabel Sitar, CHS Class of 2019 graduate and University of Texas at Austin textile and apparel design major, has sewn more than 250 masks. “I am so grateful to be a part of this volunteer sewing project of making masks for my neighbors, friends, and nurses,” said Sitar. “It’s about the small things we can do as the first aid responders do the big jobs, working so hard to help fight off this pandemic.”

MSK nurses from Chatham that include Katie Fox, Kit Whiteman, Grace Caufield, Allison Nall, Megan Gyves, Sarah Rassmussen and Eileen Moran, Kathleen Ughetta and Blair Gallietto were honored that the community stepped up and provided them with functional and beautiful masks to protect themselves on the frontlines. Fox has been serving her patients remotely during the pandemic. She said she feels that she will be able to safely commute with one of McHugh’s reusable washable masks when she returns to work at the hospital.

(L-R) CHS graduate Kit Whiteman, a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering pictured with Bri Ciccone, a patient care coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering

The wash and reuse aspect of these masks is important for keeping other PPE for the healthcare workers,” said Fox, adding “Mrs. McHugh has gone above and beyond for her friends, family and other Chatham residents by putting in countless hours making safe and fun masks. I am so proud to have her as a friend and witness firsthand the care that has gone into helping others.

The relationships built and the dedication to the community that has been instilled in those who have taken the Chatham Family and Consumer Science Class at Chatham Middle School serve as a reminder that many of the most valuable lessons that students learn on their educational journey transcend the classroom and are inspired by a dedicated and passionate teacher.