A Hawk and A Scholar

One nice surprise in our ongoing (masked) pandemic walks all around Philadelphia has been the discovery of these ‘congratulations’ signs placed in the yards of current Greene Street Friends School 2020 graduates.

I’m sure it’s no replacement for in-person festivities, or any sense of end-of-school-year shenanigans with friends and family, but it’s nice nod to give a little hawk thumbs-up (feathers-up?) for those students and families that had their school year upended in the early spring. Or for any student who won’t be able to go back to their schools, due to graduating, or moving, or for whatever reason, due to ongoing (and entirely justified, necessary and helpful) school closures. The move to online learning, and in many school districts, no out-of-school learning, or support at all, has been tremendously hard for kids. And teachers. And administrators. And families.

At any rate, I hope the discovery of these signs in their yards, and their porches, and their windows, and sidewalk medians was a nice surprise for the kids involved. And for children not involved with the school, a nice surprise to see a goofy bird in a goofy hat.

Incidentally, I didn’t know the school was making these, with a little help from the little hawk mascot I made for the school, but I think it looks great in a scholar cap, so kudos to the stylist. It’s been great to see these hawks pop up on products, and gym floors, and t-shirts of kids running by, a real rewarding experience for me, personally, and professionally. I hope it helps all the students feel part of something nice and special, which was my hope when I designed them.

And congratulations, Class of 2020, of course, and to all students this year. 

You earned it, big time.

#classof2020 #greenestreetfriendsschool #greenestreetfriendshawks