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It’s 7 a.m. on the last day before the weekend. Parents start to pull up to W.S. Neal Elementary School. You can see the children’s eyes light up when they look out of the car window and see the smiling faces of W.S. Neal High School students.
The upbeat pop music and the elementary assistant principal’s righteous dance moves coax the children out of their cars. The sound of giggles and the sense of excitement fill the air as the kids realize today they get to high five the big kids.
This is High Five Fridays at Neal Elementary.
Every Friday students from high school volunteer at the elementary to give the children high fives.
“This is a positive way to get kids’ days started on a Friday and get them hyped up to get ready to take their assessments,” W.S. Neal Elementary Assistant Principal Courtney McBride said. “It helps them keep a positive attitude.”
The high school students who volunteer are all of the sports teams like the football players and cheerleaders and organizations such as FFA. This past Friday there was a mixture of athletes.
“Coming out to see them makes me feel like I have to act right so that I can be someone they can look up to,” sophomore Mario Lane said.
McBride said she makes a point to tell all of the volunteers to look each child in the eye and wish them a good day to help remind each one of them that they are important. McBride also said that she tells the volunteers to let her know when they plan to apply for colleges so that she can write a letter confirming their hours.
“I think this is a great way to keep this school and the high school connected,” McBride said. “The kids love it and the parents do too.”