Slackwood Elementary School principal, Jay Billy stands in front of the school’s unity tree with Kaneeda Bullock of Lawrence Township Education Foundation, art specialist Jill Lee-You, student Tom O’Neal, library specialist Kathy Saretzky and Slackwood alumna Jody Hastings, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013.
Slackwood Elementary School held a celebration to christen its unity hallway Jan. 25.
The unity hallway is adorned with a “unity tree” created by art specialist, Jill Lee-You, and her students. A poem by library specialist, Kathy Saretzky, accompanies the tree.
Construction of the tree was funded by a grant secured by Lee-You and Saretzky from the Lawrence Township Education Foundation.
The tree was inspired by the poem “Roots and Wings” by Denis Waitley. The tree trunk represents the “roots” of the school, which provide students with the education, or “wings,” they need to grow into members of society.
When students graduate from Slackwood, they will leave their mark by placing feathers, which represent leaves, on the tree.
At the unity celebration, students wore Roots and Wings t-shirts and watched a video about the construction of the tree. Students read unity ideas and sang the Slackwood song, “Blue and Gold.” Afterwards, parents and guardians signed blades of grass that surround the tree.
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