This year’s AVID teachers are planting a rock garden to provide the seniors with a long lasting memory of their high school experience. 

“This year we have decided to create the ‘AVID Rocks’ rock garden as a way to celebrate our students who have worked tirelessly throughout their time here at WEGO and in the AVID program to reach their after-high school goals.  We felt that a rock garden would be a fun, creative, and lasting way for students to leave a little reminder about what their hard work has helped them accomplish for future WEGO students and AVID students to see and hopefully provide a spark of encouragement for them to also fulfill their goals and dreams,” AVID teacher Michelle Walters said.

Around April 26, during all students’ AVID periods, seniors were introduced to a rock garden activity; they were asked to decorate a rock with paint, or utilizing acrylic markers. The students were asked to put the name of the college they will be attending after high school, and their intended major. 

“[Michelle] Walters and I were just briefing one day, and we were like, ‘What can we do to have a big project for the seniors? Like a legacy project?’ We were thinking about a lot of different things, and we were like, What about a rock garden?’” Jennifer Culbertson, AVID teacher, said.

The duo approached Len Egan, Director of Student Services, with the idea.

“Our boss, Len Egan, is extremely gracious and giving and understanding and tolerate of our behavior, and he was like, ‘I think it’s a great idea.’ So we were able to secure funds by Mr. Egan and Dr. Dwyer,” Culbertson said.

Students not only had to brainstorm ideas as to how to decorate the rock, but they were also asked to think about coming back in the future.

The hope, according to the teachers, is that in the future, these seniors will see how their life was planned in high school, and how it actually turned out to be.  

“I put more about my feelings and how I felt this year compared to freshman year,” senior Alexa Correa said.

The rocks will be placed outside of the school for the foreseeable future. 

“We have an official rock garden sign: ‘Welcome to our AVID rocks garden,’” Culbertson said.

Although AVID students were looking forward to the garden of rocks taking shape, there is not an exact date as to when the rocks will be planted, or when students could come back to view them, though the students were told to come back in 20 years. 

“I think that it benefits students knowing that they have a legacy here at this school as being part of the AVID family,” Culbertson said.

For some, the wait will be worth it. 

“I think seeing how I feel now, and then seeing it twenty years later, and seeing how I felt before would be like impactful in some way. I guess I would feel different reflecting on my past,” Correa said.