NORWICH – Gibson Elementary School’s new Building Leadership Team – made up of parents, community members, teachers and students – was originally conceived as a way to solve problems within the school and bring new ideas to the table, according to Principal Dara Lewis.
That’s exactly what first-grader Torin Lawrence and second-grader Rachel Seeley had in mind when they attended their first Building Leadership Team meeting. They had a problem they wanted to solve and a plan to do just that.
Lawrence said he came up with the idea for a Gibson Purple Pride Day due to the fact that the “high school, middle school and Perry Browne Elementary all celebrate Purple Pride every Friday,” and he believed Gibson Elementary should participate as well.
The two students took it upon themselves to attend a meeting – held every other week at the end of the school day – and asked teachers how they felt about the idea, said Lewis. The assembled leadership team then “gave them some jobs to do” in preparation and the announcement was made last Thursday. Fridays are now officially known as Purple Pride Day at Gibson Elementary.
“For students to take a leadership role, to go to a meeting with teachers, that could be intimidating,” said Lewis. “While they were nervous, they were well prepared and had things planned out.”
The students took the time to make posters, headbands and “Purple Tornado Twister” pins, all in an effort to spread the word on Purple Pride Day, reported Lewis, and both were “quite happy, and proud, to see so many students and teachers” taking part.
Lawrence and Seeley both urged fellow students to continue to show their school spirit by wearing purple, or white, every Friday, and Lewis commented they’d already seen a lot of support for the idea.
“We’re just trying to get everyone to wear a purple T-shirt,” said Seeley. “We want to make sure everyone wears purple.”