AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Amarillo Independent School District students are working to help students at Sandy Hook Elementary School cope with the tragedy that took place there. They're doing it by creating all kinds of paper snowflakes.
While most of the students are unaware of the magnitude of what happened Friday. They do know they're helping welcome Connecticut students back to a new school after Christmas. It's their Panhandle Spirit Pronews 7 is featuring in this week's Region 16 Spotlight on Education report.
The sounds and smells of Christmas are in the air. Windsor Elementary students are busy elves, working on creating beautiful paper snowflakes. These snowflakes will be hanging in the hallways as students at Sandy Hook Elementary head back to the new school after Christmas.
"I looked at the Connecticut PTA website and they have a section about how to help the children and they had an article about making snowflakes for them.They're going to a new school that they haven't been to before and they just want to fill the halls with paper snowflakes," said Angela Hicks, AISD PTA President.
So students at Windsor Elementary, Woodlands Elementary, and De Zavala Middle School are working to create the snowflakes.
"This is something so simple, I mean paper snowflakes are something the kids would enjoy making at this time of year and it just brings so much joy and cheer to those children's lives when they have to go back to school after facing something like that," said Hicks.
"I think everyone wants to reach out and comfort the people in Connecticut and I think this is one way we can do that," said Charla Cobb, Windsor Elementary Principal.
While some, too young to understand the tragic events that have taken place, still have smiles on their faces knowing they're somehow making a difference in another students life.
"The knowledge I think it varies. I think some students have a pretty good understanding of what happened and I think others may not. The school has not addressed those issues on a formal basis out of respect for the parents of our school," said Cobb.
Hicks says she'll box up the snowflakes and ship them to Connecticut with a special note to the students of Sandy Hook.
