On the one-year anniversary of the tragic passing of East Middle School student Aliza Spencer, some of her former classmates carried out an event in her honor that has been months in the making.
EMS seventh-grader Jarielyz Masso is in class, but not the class she is typically in on a Friday morning. She, alongside a group of fellow EMS students, took the trek to Calvin Coolidge Elementary School to spend the day with the students there, and teach them the value of friendship. Spencer was a Coolidge student before moving up to East Middle, and that link between the two schools were strengthened even more through what is now known as “Friendship Day”. Throughout the morning, students from EMS and Coolidge created friendship bracelets in Aliza’s favorite shade of purple, as well as creating friendship poems that explain what being a good friend means to them.
Masso happened to be planted in the same classroom of her little sister who attends Coolidge, and being around her sister and all the other students made the work that went into Friendship Day worth it.
“We just felt like it would bring everybody together, and that’s exactly what we want.” Masso noted.
The day was organized and led largely by the Leadership Academy over at East Middle School. According to Dannette Koanui, a science teacher at EMS and coordinator of the Leadership Academy, the idea came from some of the students in the group who were friends with Aliza. They wanted to honor Aliza, and once they had the idea, they immediately got to work putting together Friendship Day.
As Friday morning turned over into Friday afternoon, hundreds of Coolidge students and staff, nearly all wearing purple, gathered for a ceremony geared toward sharing what Aliza meant to those who knew her best. Aliza’s teachers, friends, and more spoke about Aliza – her spirit, their memories of her, and how all students listening should strive to be like her. Additionally, a purple chair with a flower pot in the middle inscribed with the name “Aliza” was unveiled, is set to live right next to the little free library that already exists in her honor.
As bubbles rose through the air to the sounds of Coolidge students playing “Amazing Grace” on bells, the East Middle School students who spent hours upon hours putting their hearts into Friendship Day got to see joy on the faces of kids – the same type of joy Aliza brought to their lives.
“It’s super rewarding. They’re a great group of kids. All the kids that we have here today are wonderful,” Koanui said. “They were so excited to come and be mentors and big helpers to the little kids.”
