Ms. Jaclyn Smith, Director of School Counseling, and her team took on the feat of creating the Sources of Strength Lift Each Other Up wings outside of the Independence school cafeteria. 

Smith explained, “In Nashville, Tennessee they have wings as a mural on a brick wall. We were [making our wings] around our Sources of Strength lessons about positive friends.”

Sources of Strength, a suicide prevention project, equips students with the tools to recognize warning signs of suicide among peers. Every grade has appointed students who go through training in the hopes of helping other students get the help they need when dealing with mental health issues.

“We asked teachers a couple of weeks ago to start recommending students that they think would be really strong student leaders,” said Mrs. Erica Olinares, an Independence school counselor and co-sponsor of Sources of Strength, “We try to recruit students who have a deep passion for making school a welcoming environment and who want to provide more acceptance to others who aren’t just the straight-A perfect model of a student.” 

Campaigns or initiatives are planned and carried out during the school year. Mr. Nicolo Porto, Independence School Social Worker and co-sponsor of Sources of Strength, detailed his hopes for the group. “The Thankfulness Challenge is about taking some time to stop and think of one person in our life that has really had a profound impact on us. Then thank them for that. Not only does it feel good when someone genuinely thanks you, but the act of thanking them also generally makes us feel good.” 

Finally, Olinares exclaimed, “The campaigns are a fun part of school culture.” Porto finished, “I hope we create a culture change in schools, that when we are having conversations with our friends, it’s about what’s going well first.”