Students rally in face of tragedy

Just as adults around the country have rallied together in unity following last week's terrorist attacks, so have young students, as school projects have revolved around fund-raising efforts and patriotism.

Many schools have undertaken projects geared toward raising money for relief efforts, while other students have showed their patriotism, going as far as scrapping their homecoming theme to honor the red, white and blue of America.

You may not expect middle school and high school students to show such strong signs of unity, but it didn't come as a surprise to one local principal.

"I don't think the general public knows how interested these kids are in current events and what they think of the world," said Wasilla Middle School principal Bob Thompson. "But they really do. It makes me feel good to know how much these kids care."

Wasilla Middle School students constructed a large, 10-foot by 15-foot collage of written responses and patriotic messages.

The collage resembles the American flag, and Wednesday afternoon, it was hung in the entrance of Fred Meyer. Across the banner, "Proud to be an American" is written, echoing the sentiments of many of the students.

"Kids 12, 13, and 14 are affected by what happened, and our students really wanted to do something positive for the community," Thompson said. "At the middle-school age, students are looking for an identity, and they tend to attach themselves to things like this. In this case, they wanted to know, 'What can I do?'"

Thompson said the flag collage will be traveling to different locations around the community in coming weeks.

WMS students are also conducting a penny drive, with collection cans located around town. All proceeds will go to relief efforts.

At Colony High School, freshmen were devising ways to decorate their hallway for homecoming the week the attack happened. They decided to turn their hall into a place where red, white and blue replaced their school colors of green and black. The result was a patriotic display that brought parents -- of students from other schools -- into Colony to get a look at it.

"They did a great job at the last minute," said principal Mac Whyte.

Lockers were adorned with blue paper and white stars, or white paper and red crepe paper. The entire length of the hall resembles a huge American flag. Above the rows of lockers, inspirational quotes from George W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell and other American dignitaries can be found.

Before getting into the hall, visitors are greeted by a huge, three-dimensional bald eagle at the base of a stairway, with "In God We Trust" scrawled across a banner beneath.

"The class decided to do it for spirit week, and it took all day Saturday to decorate," said freshman Whitney Kinsey.

WMS student washes cars for tragedy's victims

A Wasilla Middle School eighth-grader decided action speaks louder than words, and organized a car wash to help raise money for victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attack victims.

Kloiah Wayland, with cooperation from the Wasilla Police Department, rallied classmates to get together last Saturday for a car wash.

The event raised more than $450 for relief efforts, which is a lot coming from a motivated eighth-grader.

"She wanted to make a difference, and she did," said Bob Thompson, the principal at Wasilla Middle School. "We're proud of her."

Wayland and her classmates washed the vehicles in the Wasilla Police Department parking lot.