SURPRISE APPEARANCE BY J.LO MAKES FOR 'LOUD' GRADUATION

Superstar takes in ceremony at Great Kills school, where students dance to her song

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

By GREG ALVAREZ

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got,

I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block

Used to have a little, now I have a lot,

No matter where I go, I know where I came from (from the Bronx!)" -- Jennifer Lopez, "Jenny From the Block"

A graduation ceremony is always special, providing memories that last a lifetime.

But when a superstar performer drops by to hear you sing and dance to her hit song, well, graduation just got very cool.

Just ask a group of eight students from PS 37, Great Kills, who spent their graduation day with pop icon Jennifer Lopez.

J.Lo visited PS 37, a school for autistic children, to see the group of 10- and 11-year-olds perform her song "Let's Get Loud" at their graduation ceremony. The surprise visit had been long in the making, and the only people who knew ahead of time were the students, their teacher Kathy Amati, paraprofessional Rose Mondella and PS 37 principal Bill Fiorelli.

In her career, J.Lo has sold 48 million records worldwide.

However, the class was introduced to her music only a few months ago, when they were looking for that special song to sing and dance to at graduation.

Ms. Amati and Ms. Mondella screened Ms. Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" video as a suggestion, and the class of eight boys loved it. They soon learned the lyrics and dance moves.

"The kids don't even really understand how famous she is," said Ms. Amati. "They just really like her singing and dancing." After observing the boys' enthusiasm, Ms. Amati and Ms. Mondella decided to have the children write letters to Ms. Lopez -- whose mom, Guadalupe, used to teach kindergarten -- via her fan clubs.

Considering the stature of the superstar, the teachers would have been happy if J.Lo or her people had mailed a few glitzy photos or perhaps an autograph.

But the students had other ideas.

"From the minute we wrote the letters, they just automatically thought she would come," Ms. Amati said.

And Jenny From the Block didn't disappoint.

On Monday afternoon, a J.Lo rep called PS 37 inquiring about the time of the graduation ceremony -- because the superstar wanted to attend. "I just lost it, I couldn't speak after that," Ms. Amati said. "I still wasn't sure she would come until I saw the security."

"We kept it very quiet and concentrated on getting the kids ready for the ceremony," said Fiorelli.

Ms. Lopez, who of course scored a front-row seat for the ceremony, watched the class sing and dance to her track. When it was over, she visited the classroom where the children had rehearsed in earnest, leading up to the big day.

J.Lo, who was impressed with the performance, raised a soda-filled champagne glass in approval. "She was all for the children," said Ms. Mondella. "She was absolutely perfect." The superstar posed for pictures with the class, their parents and siblings.

"To take time from her schedule to fit us in is not that easy, people don't [usually] take time to do that," said Ms. Amati.

In the end, Jenny From the Block stayed true to her mantra: "Used to have a little, now I have a lot, No matter where I go, I know where I came from."