Students at PS 86 in Kingsbridge will have the opportunity to expand their horizons beyond the Bronx and all the way to Japan, thanks to a late contribution from State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr.

Sheldon Bernardo, who attended PS 86 as a child and has been principal at the school for the past 19 years, said the school had been planning to visit Japan to connect with student pen pals and experience some of the country’s cultural offerings. But they were lacking the funds to make it happen.

Bernardo had read that Espada, who represents most of the northwest Bronx, had ascended to majority leader last summer and might have some extra cash for community groups and schools. So Bernardo reached out to him in October and sure enough, Espada agreed to provide the school with $25,000 from a pot of discretionary funds Espada controls.

From May 15 to 23, the top students will travel to Tokyo and Kyoto and take in a Sumo wrestling match and sleep in a Buddhist monastery.

“Children learn tolerance, love and an understanding of the world at large from the enriching experience of meeting children in faraway places like Japan,” Espada said in a statement. “This experience will have a lasting impact on these wonderful fifth graders.”

Bernardo said he couldn’t thank the senator enough. “We are extremely excited,” he said. “This will be so broadening for these kids, an opportunity to expand beyond the reach of their parents’ pocketbooks.”

Since the beginning of the year, PS 86 students have been learning about Japanese culture, as well as writing and speaking on Skype to their Japanese counterparts. 

-With ALEX KRATZ