Southwest Parke Community Schools

Riverton Parke Jr./Sr. High School National Honor Society Vice President, Kayli Hazzard, created High Five Friday for Southwest Parke Community Schools. High Five Friday is a new program in which the varsity cheerleaders and the varsity football players travel to Montezuma and Rosedale Elementary Schools to visit with the students before school and give out high fives.  “I started this program because I wanted to get elementary students excited about their day. Getting up in the morning to go to school is rough, and I think that having even a small good morning and a high five from a high school athlete can help brighten their day. I have seen ideas on social media of athletes doing different things with the elementary schools, and being good role models for the students. I wanted to come up with a program that does all of that, and helps the students start their day off right.” said Kayli.  This program's first day was on September 20, 2024.  Varsity athletes went to Rosedale and Montezuma Elementary Schools at 7:30 am and greeted the students upon entering the building. They visited classrooms and gave out many high fives and fist bumps. “The students were excited to see the bigger kids in the building and loved giving them a high five. They came through the door smiling.” said Bryan Emmert, principal of Montezuma Elementary.  “It was a wonderful start to the day! The elementary kids loved seeing the high schoolers. The athletes brought a lot of excitement to our students.” said Abby Cleghorn, principal of Rosedale Elementary.