![\"Kramer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770426735_488_image.png\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe 350 or so kids sat on the floor at Kramer Lane Elementary School, many of them waving their small American flags. The mixed soundtrack of their happy squeals and James Brown\u2019s \u201cLiving in America\u201d filled the big all-purpose room.<\/p>\n
And then came the chants of \u201cU-S-A! U-S-A!\u201d<\/p>\n
The school assembly\/pep rally was beginning Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
It was a primer for these\u00a0elementary school kids about the Winter Olympics and a talented child of Long Island, an event in his honor. Charlie McAvoy was over in Milan, Italy, marching in the parade of athletes at the opening ceremonies for the 2026 Games as a first-time member of Team USA\u2019s Olympic men\u2019s hockey contingent.<\/p>\n
So why single out the Boston Bruins defenseman from Long Beach at this Plainview school that’s part of the Bethpage district? Because Jennifer McAvoy \u2014 aka Charlie\u2019s mom \u2014 is in her fourth year working here, serving as a second grade teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just truly humbled,\u201d she said before the crowd entered the room. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very exciting. I think that going to the Olympics is super exciting and this is a really good way to send him off and to recognize everything he\u2019s worked for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kids learned about his story and the traits that got him to this day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kramer Lane Elementary School students gather\u00a0for a pep rally on Friday, Feb.\u00a06, 2026, in Plainview to celebrate Long Beach native Charlie McAvoy, who is representing Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Charlie is son of second-grade teacher Mrs. Jennifer McAvoy. Credit: Howard Simmons<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that he worked really hard and he got really far in life,\u201d fifth-grader Nicholas Kong said.<\/p>\n
The lessons extended to what sports the students might see being contested and an explanation of the medals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked it,\u201d said Nina Chouhan, another fifth-grader. \u201cI learned a lot about the Olympics that I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Video highlights had rolled during the presentation, and the children cheered some of McAvoy\u2019s goals for Boston that flashed on the big screen. Jennifer McAvoy, proudly wearing her son\u2019s No. 25 Team USA jersey, participated in a Q&A with the students, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot [to the school],\u201d said Kerri McCarthy, Kramer Lane\u2019s principal. \u201cWe\u2019re really proud of what Charlie has been able to accomplish. We\u2019re proud of what Jen has done as a mom of an Olympian. I mean, that\u2019s a lot of work for moms.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just really exciting for us. And we\u2019re hoping to get kids excited about the Olympics again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kramer Lane Elementary School second-grade teacher Mrs. Jennifer McAvoy. Credit: Howard Simmons<\/p>\n
Jennifer will be leaving next Wednesday for Milan with husband Charlie Sr. and daughters Heather and Holly.<\/p>\n
The family matriarch has been reflective lately about her son\u2019s journey from that 3-year-old first putting on ice skates in Long Beach to 2016 first-round pick by Boston to nine-year Bruins standout to 28-year-old Olympian.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever in a million years when he was that little would we have dreamed that he would be making it this far,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cBut there was a passion in him whenever he played his sport that just stood out and a determination and a hard work ethic. I\u2019m so proud of him and so happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has a history competing for USA Hockey. But the Olympics? This is a five-ringed thrill of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
Kramer Lane Elementary School second-grade teacher Mrs. Jennifer McAvoy, mother of Team USA’s Charlie McAvoy. Credit: Howard Simmons<\/p>\n
And would you believe it could\u2019ve been derailed in the first period of his final game before the Olympics?<\/p>\n
Florida forward Sandis Vilmanis delivered an elbow to McAvoy\u2019s head Wednesday, drawing a two-minute penalty. McAvoy was helped off the ice and headed down the tunnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery worried,\u201d his mom said. \u201cVery worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her son returned for the second period. Jennifer said he\u2019s cleared to play in the Olympics \u201cas of right now, as far as I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a little sore, but he\u2019s OK,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like your heart stops for a moment. And then I got a text from his wife; I knew he was OK.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I could breathe again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kramer Lane Elementary School students display a sign for Long Beach native\u00a0Charlie McAvoy, who is representing Team USA in the Olympics. Credit: Howard Simmons<\/p>\n
Before leaving for Italy, Charlie McAvoy recorded a video to be played for the students, meaningful and inspiring words:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s one message I can give to you guys, I just want to say, since I was your age, I\u2019ve been dreaming of this. This is a dream come true for me. I\u2019ve worked my whole life to get to this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys have dreams; follow them. Work as hard as you can. Anything is possible. Go USA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBrian Heyman covers high school, college and pro sports. He joined\u00a0Newsday\u00a0in 2021 and previously worked as a sportswriter for The Journal News in White Plains and The Hudson Dispatch in Union City, New Jersey. His work has appeared in\u00a0The New York Times, MLB.com and Baseball Digest magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 350 or so kids sat on the floor at Kramer Lane Elementary School, many of them waving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2063,79857,131,133,132,10012],"class_list":{"0":"post-167508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-boston-bruins","9":"tag-li-athletes","10":"tag-long-beach","11":"tag-long-beach-headlines","12":"tag-long-beach-news","13":"tag-olympics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}