Garden City High School seniors entered the building on Feb. 24 to find an uplifting surprise from their younger peers. They were greeted with congratulatory signs created by students from Stratford and Stewart schools. Throughout the hallways, encouraging words and illustrations celebrated members of the Class of 2021 as they prepare for graduation and promising futures.
Elementary school classes designed decorative signs with positive statements such as “You’ve got this,” “Seniors rock,” “You did it,” and “Go seniors,” just to name a few. Many of the posters featured signatures, short messages and decorations from each student in the class.
Leigh Dowden and Terri King, teachers at Stratford and Stewart, respectively, organized the collaborative effort. After collecting the finished posters, they visited the high school after school on Feb. 23 and affixed them to lockers and walls throughout the hallways so that seniors would see them first thing the next morning. Parent Sandra Cooper, who proposed the idea for this initiative, provided the oak tag boards.
The signs brightened the high school and helped foster a sense of connection throughout the district as students and staff members support one another during difficult times.
—Submitted by Garden City Public Schools
