TATUM — Wearing an electric lime green shirt covered in mud, Tatum High School senior Johnathan McClure, 17, was quickly making his rounds around the Tatum Public Library to see what tasks other classmates were assigned.
"We dug up 142 wood posts," he said as beads of sweat collected on his forehead in the rising morning temperatures. "The librarian wanted us to move them, and that's how many we counted."
Jamaal E. O'Neal/News-Journal Photo |
Junior Lydia White, 17, adds a splash of yellow paint Friday morning to playground equipment at Tatum's Lion's Club Park. White joined more than 300 of her Tatum High School classmates during the school's first-ever 'Steppin' Out' Day.
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From all corners of Tatum, all high school faculty and students were teamed by wearing multicolored shirts and could be seen "steppin' out" along highways and fields collecting trash, pulling shrubs, planting flowers or sprucing-up playground equipment.
Businesses and teachers help supply the equipment; students supplied the elbow grease.
Tatum High School Principal Debbie Maxey said it is the first year the school has implemented the school wide program. She said administrators and staff met with city leaders to find out what work needed to be completed in the community.
"We had the idea a year ago, but it always has been part of our school plans," Maxey said. "We hope next year it will grow into a weekend event."
Maxey said the locations, which included Texas 149 and Texas 43 and the Lion's Club Park, were chosen by a committee of faculty and community leaders as some of the most visible areas in the community.
She said the city has been very supportive of the school and felt it was time students gave back to Tatum.
While a date for next year's "Steppin' Out" has not been confirmed,, Maxey said plans are already in the works for the event.
"The Tatum community supports Tatum students," she said. "We felt that students learning to give back would be the educational lesson of today."
Senior Susanna Simpson, 18, echoed the same sentiments.
She said it would be a good lasting legacy for the 2A high school.
"It's pretty awesome," she said as she pummeled a patch of weeds with a large hedge clipper in the library's flower bed.
"I hope to drive through here from college and see everyone doing this."
Teachers Pam Galloway and Julie Ochetto said students on their "Gold Team" were glad to be out of class and doing something good for the community.
After cleaning Crystal Farms Road, their group offered to spruce up a home that had been abandoned. The owner, a 1946 Tatum High School graduate, was too frail to do the work on his own.
"There were a couple of moans and grumbles," Galloway said. "But when they finished, many were taking pictures with their cell phones and took pride in their work."
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How to help
- Donate tools, money or your time
- Request areas that need to be cleaned by filling out a request form from Tramel Trace or Tatum High School
- For more information on planning, and to offer donations for next year's event, call Tatum High School at (903) 947-6482
Source: Debbie Maxey, Tatum High School principal
