Banners for Parkland

On February 14, 2018, one of the deadliest school shootings in the world occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Fatalities reached 17, and 14 more were hospitalized.

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas return to school this week, and schools around the country are ready to show their support. Mount Vernon is one of them. The MVHS yearbook staff put a banner out for students to sign during lunch on February 26. The principal of MSD requested that schools send banners in lieu of individual notes and gifts.

“I follow a teacher on instagram from that school, I didn’t realize she taught there until after the shooting happened,” Mrs. Leavell commented. “She said something about it and I looked on the website, there’s a statement there.”

Mrs. Leavell is the yearbook advisor, and wanted to send the Florida students a banner because,  “I just wanted to find a way to support the students and staff because I can’t imagine going to school after that happened, and I thought that was one small way that we could support them.”

Students turned up to show their support, nearly filling the banner, which reads “tough times never last, but tough people do.” The students of MSD have more than proven that they are tough in these past few weeks, and have the support of many in their journey to, as shooting survivor Taryn Hibshman puts it, “finding the new normal.”