Students and staff from Richards High School wore green and white – the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School – on Friday, December 21. 

The Sandy Hook community has occupied the thoughts of everyone at Richards since the tragic school shooting that claimed 26 victims on December 14. 

During the day, students and teachers from Richards signed a banner with the names and photos of all 26 shooting victims.  After school, staff gathered for a ceremony dedicated to the victims.

Staff members posed for a group photo with the banner that Richards will send to the Sandy Hook Elementary School community. 

Richards teacher Cora Umecker then read all the names of the victims.  It was an emotional experience, with many teachers crying softly.

Finally, Umecker and teacher Debbie Swanson released 26 green and white balloons.  With winds reaching 30 miles per hour, the balloons disappeared quickly into the eastern sky.  The poignancy was lost on no one.