On May 25th, the friends and family of seniors at the Morgan school gathered to celebrate their upcoming graduation by creating personalized chalk artwork in the rear entrance of the school.
The tradition, which started the year after Covid-19, celebrates each senior by decorating a 10 foot by 10 foot square of the walkway in front of the school entrance with chalk. Inside each box, there is typically a student’s name, where they are going to college, and some things that are a big part of their life.
While this tradition seems like something small, it is one that seniors each year look forward to. Senior Lauren Abbott, who already had two older siblings graduate, had similar things to say. “Getting to go see the chalk was such an unreal feeling. Every year we come to school and see the artwork, and it always felt so far away from being us. Now that it is our turn, it was so much more meaningful than I thought it would be.”
The day is planned by Project Graduation parents, who get the message out to everyone else. On the day of the event, parents, friends and family show up to help design the square for their kid, sibling, or friend. It is an all-day event and members from the project graduation stayed throughout the whole day to try to make sure that everyone was accounted for. If a student doesn’t have someone show up, they might try to create a square for that student or ensure they are represented by writing their name in a non-decorated square.
Senior Emily Kravitz was extremely excited to get to go see the chalk that night on the sidewalk in front of the school. While not everyone’s parents are the ones who create the box for them, having other people in your life, who care enough to take the time out of their day to create something to represent you when your parents can’t is just as meaningful. “My friend Piper’s mom made my square for me, and getting to see so many aspects of my life in one square with all my friends is such a heartwarming feeling that I didn’t expect to make me so happy.”
Senior Lyla Striby said, “I’ve been looking forward to seeing my chalk for weeks leading up to the day. My friends and I all planned to go walk it together so we could all spend some time laughing together about what our parents and friends created. My mom even brought Dairy Queen ice cream for everyone to enjoy while they looked at the chalk.”
Walk the chalk is another huge part of senior week here at Morgan. It’s another way for seniors to get to relish their last few weeks in high school before that part of their life is a memory. That’s why it is so important for them to enjoy little moments like Walk the Chalk, to have the best experiences to remember from high school down the road.