Sarah Rennie
“We really wanted it to be a community-wide project,” says Franklin Elementary physical education and math teacher Michelle Blair, who along with her mother, Cynthia Blair (also the school custodian), initiated a project to line the fence around the school playground with messages of hope, thanks and encouragement.
Pieces of wood that people could transform into signs were left outside the school and community members were encouraged to drop off their contributions to be posted to the fence. There is still some room, but the fence is filling in fast. “It just brings colour, and vibes of good and positiveness,” principal Eveline Taylor says.
“The students were quite impressed with it,” Taylor adds, referring to the initial reactions of returning students as they first caught sight of the decorated fence. Franklin welcomed back a total of eight children, and during their first week back all were urged to create their own message to add to the collection. A number of other students who were not returning dropped off signs with their families while collecting their belongings from the school this past week.
“It has been a really nice initiative,” Taylor says, admitting the project is helping all to cope with an otherwise difficult situation. The first day back on May 11 felt a bit awkward, she admits, as everyone became accustomed to the new rules around social distancing and hygiene. “But it was really nice to have kids back in the school.”
Many of the signs are COVID-19 related, including several rainbows, but there are also a number with more general messages to stay positive, stay safe, and be kind, while others include quotations and popular sayings. “It was a bit slow at the start,” says Michelle Blair, “but now it’s starting to accumulate,” she says, before noting they are still hoping to have more signs come in. Already, cars tend to slow down as they drive by, and several a day pull into the yard to take a closer look.
“We can’t stop the world forever,” Blair says of the decision to allow students to return to class. “So, we do the best we can to keep it bright.”