Abby Johnson

School Wide Events

Meet You at the Pole
On Wednesday, September 23, I attended the Meet You at the
Pole event at Trace Crossings. This event was before school at 7:15 by
the flagpole in front of the entrance. First Priority hosted the event that
students, teachers, and parents attended. Many students continued to
join as buses began dropping students off around 7:30. This event was
in conjunction with the national See You at the Pole organization. The
theme of the event was United. It came from Acts 1:14 that says,
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer. When it
began, the theme was introduced to students. She talked about how
the students at the school were united in prayer, but there were also
students at other Hoover schools praying too. She also told them they
were united with students all over the country who were praying.
Most of the time, students were praying. Students spent time in
prayer for their school and the administration. A few adults prayed at
the beginning and the end. However, students were given the
opportunity to take turns reading prayers from notecards. After they
finished, everyone divided into small groups of three to four people to
pray individually. This event connected students in the school with
teachers, parents, and people from area churches. It provided

students a way to spend time in prayer with adults they respect and
look up to.

Walk to School
On Wednesday, October 14, I participated in the Walk to School
event. We arrived around 6:45 a.m. and were placed along the road
where the students would be walking. This event is like ones
happening all over the nation with the Walk or Bike to School
organization. Their goal is to promote healthier habits in students and
creating a cleaner environment. By walking to school, students are
active and reducing air-pollution. This also gives students the
opportunity to learn about proper safety and encourage improvements
to the community like sidewalks. Finally, it builds a sense of community
as students spend time together.
The Samford students stood on the sides of the road the students
used to walk to school. We encouraged them and greeted them as they
continued to walk to school. The students began in the parking lot of
The Hoover Met and walked down the street that connects to the
school. The event brought many people together to walk with the
students. There were parents, teachers, and faculty walking with the
students. The superintendent of the Hoover City Schools even walked
with some of the students. Many times the adults walked the students

to the door of the school, and then walked back to the parking lot to
continue helping students. This event was unique in that it brought
students of all different ages together. Older students were walking
with younger ones, encouraging them to keep going. It also taught
students about having a healthy and active lifestyle in an engaging
and real way. I think having the Samford students and other teachers
and adults to participate and encourage students showed them that
we also support this healthy lifestyle.

Read for the Record

On Thursday, October 22, I participated in Read for the Record by
performing in the readers theater skit. Our participation in the event
went beyond performing the day of Read for the Record. There was a
lot of preparation involved. Before performing, we had practice on
Wednesday after class to go over our parts and where we would stand.
Then Thursday morning, we got to the school at 7:15 to practice one
more time before students arrived. Students in kindergarten through
second grade attended the program. The first grade sang the song We
Love Our Pets, and then we performed the readers theater skit.
Read for the Record is an annual event sponsored by the
Jumpstart organization. Each year a book is chosen that schools all
over the nation read on a designated day. The goal of this event is to
encourage early learning and literacy. This year the book was Not

Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett. After the program, each

class read the book. The students in my classroom were very excited to
hear the book again after seeing the program. It was a book about pets
that they could understand and relate to. By taking a day to celebrate
reading, students see the value being placed on it. This event provided
students with the opportunity to play an important role in
implementing the event. Involving the first grade students in the
program engaged them and grew their excitement for the book and for
reading. They recognized their special part in the program just like the
Samford students had. By involving Samford students, the students
could see that more people than just their teachers valued reading.