Middle school students at State College Friends School joined others around the country on Wednesday in participating activities to remember the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and advocate for school safety.
But they’ve also undertaken another initiative to show their support for the Stoneman Douglas community.
They’ve been hand writing on paper hearts messages such as “You are not alone,” “We support you,” and “You are strong,” to send to the high school’s 2,972 students, with the goal of brightening their days, if only for a moment.
Bailey Kellermann, middle school teacher, said in a release that on Feb. 14, the day of the shooting that claimed the lives of 17 Stoneman Douglas students and faculty, Friends School students were sharing affirmation hearts with each other, a Friends School Valentine’s Day tradition.
“As the news broke in waves over our community, one of the most surprising reactions was resignation: school shootings and gun violence are now the reality in America,” Kellermann said. “But this is not the world I want to live in. I cried. I pondered. I felt helpless. I tried to picture my students in that situation. I cried some more.”
Kellerman soon learned through social media that a teacher at the Parkland school was requesting letters of support and encouragement for the survivors.
State College Friends School middle school students wrote thousands of messages of support for students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Photo provided.
She pitched the idea to the students: each would write 125 affirmation hearts, one for each of the high school’s students with some left over for teachers and staff.
She knew it was a lot, but every student immediately agreed and they spent hours writing, cutting out and filling bins with thousands of hearts with messages of support.
Lucy Witzke, a seventh grade student at State College Friends School, writes an affirmation heart for students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Photo provided.
“When I learned about the shooting, I was so sad,” said eighth-grade student Miranda Morrison. “I imagined what it would be like to be in that school, to see my friends or my brother be killed. When Teacher Bailey brought up the affirmation idea, I was excited to participate.”
Morrison said after several days their hands hurt, ‘but we felt it was important to reach out and let the students know we care about them.”
Kellerman said the students’ efforts made her proud and optimistic about the future.
“Each affirmation they wrote reminded me that this is the world I want to live in; these young adults make it so.’
Emma Taylor-Salinas, a seventh grade student at State College Friends School, writes an affirmation heart for students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Photo provided.
