Provided by PWCS
Long after Covington-Harper Elementary School’s rising sixth graders have left for middle school, the voices of their fifth-grade teachers will still be just a squeeze away.
Inside a stuffed cheetah, the school’s mascot, is a personalized recording from each student’s fifth-grade teacher, offering words of encouragement, affirmation, and farewell.
Jason Taylor, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, shared that these messages are meant to help students hold onto memories, especially when times get tough.
“This group has worked very hard—not just academically, but they have bonded with each other as well, so it’s important for them to hold onto these memories. The next few years for these students are a very trying time in life, so holding onto some of this youthfulness can be really important.”
While messages are being recorded, students take a toy cheetah and stuff it themselves before dressing it with school apparel.
Once the message is recorded and the cheetah is put together, the recording is placed into the cheetah, allowing students to hear a message from their fifth-grade teacher any time they want.
Rising sixth grader Roslyn said she’s excited to have a keepsake that will help preserve the memories she made at Covington-Harper.
“It’s very memorable for me because even when I am grown up, I can still remember my elementary school. What I will remember most is my friends – I’ll miss this school.”
Though their elementary school days have come to an end, the stuffed cheetahs will give Roslyn and her classmates a lasting connection to the teachers, friendships, and memories that shaped them.
