Local students plan observances for 17 people killed at Florida school
Photo by Tom Rivers: Albion High School students Enoch Martin, Chase Froman and Laiken Ricker are among the student leaders who will be helping with Wednesday’s student-driven remembrance for the 17 students and faculty killed last month in Florida. Froman, center, is urging his classmates to wear burgundy and silver, the school colors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Students in Orleans County will be part of a nation-wide movement to remember the 17 victims who died in last month’s shooting in Parkland, Florida.
In Orleans County there will be memorial observances inside the schools and team-building exercises to help students connect with their classmates. The events aren’t intended to be political, local school leaders said.
At Medina High School, students are planning an assembly where the names of the 17 victims will be read. The school resource officer will address the student body. Students have also created a hat with the Medina Mustang logo and the logo from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a 19-year-old gunman opened fire last month with an assault rifle. The hat with the two logos will say #NeverAgain and will be sent to the Florida school, said Mark Kruzynski, the Medina district superintendent.
In Kendall, students and staff developed a 17-minute mini lesson that focuses on character and compassion, said Julie Christensen, the district superintendent.
Students are also expected to observe a 17-second moment of silence for each of the victims.
“Rather than a walk out, empower students to interact with each other in meaningful conversations on what they can do to improve the climate of Kendall,” she said. “The goal is to help our students understand how we treat each other and the impact on society.”
Holley students will have a memorial observance at 10 a.m. at the high school. Students will gather in the auditorium to read the names of the victims in the Florida shooting.
Holley students also have created posters with information about each of the 17 victims. They will observe a moment of silence for each life lost. Students also are selling wristband bracelets, with proceeds going Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In Albion, the middle school student council has planned 17 minutes of team-building exercises that is intended to include all 420 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade, Middle School Principal Brad Pritchard said.
Student leaders in the high school are encouraging students to wear burgundy and silver on Wednesday, the school colors for Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Senior Class President Victor Benjovsky will share a reflection over the PA system and students will observe a moment of silence. Seventeen student leaders will also spend the school day making an effort to connect with all students.
“It’s the students reaching out to the students,” said Enoch Martin, a junior.
Lyndonville doesn’t have any events planned for Wednesday, but the district – students, teachers and administrators – have been discussing student safety and the atmosphere at the school for the past month since the shooting in Florida, said Jason Smith, the district superintendent.
