One of the area’s largest community improvement projects has been happening every May in Jayton since 2014. “The Big Event,” the brainchild of the late Mike Wilson, a longtime and beloved science teacher at Jayton, deploys every JGISD student from pre-K to senior, every teacher, every staff member, even school board trustees for one sole purpose—to help their Jayton neighbors and community beautify their hometown.
Superintendent Layne Sheets and “Big Event” advisor Christy Coulter took some time earlier this week to explain to The Texas Spur how the initiative works.
According to Coulter, through the years, participants in the “Big Event” have mowed, trimmed trees, helped the elderly move furniture, painted houses and cleaned up the park, roadsides and businesses.
Coulter said students, teachers and staff are divided up by location and jobs. For example, pre-K to 2nd grade students clean up around the schools, but older students and adults take on the larger projects out in neighborhoods.
Property and business owners who need help have until Friday at noon to turn in their job requests. The “Big Event” request form is on the school’s Facebook page, and the completed forms need to be delivered in person to the school.
Sheets said, “It is quite amazing to see everyone involved gather together, wearing their T-shirts come together for one giant group photo on the football field.” He noted that even the T-shirt design is a student initiative with students competing with their designs to be chosen for the official “Big Event” shirt.
If you have a “Big Event” project that requires materials, such as painting, you’ll need to provide paint, brushes, tarps, tape and materials, and the school will provide the labor.
Otherwise, just general cleanup, such as picking up litter, mowing, raking, trimming limbs can be handled by the school.
Coulter said that the school averages 20 to 25 community clean-up projects for each “Big Event,” and those who get their forms in first, get their projects done first.
For more information, visit the JGISD Facebook page.
“Every student, every staff member participates, that’s about 170 kids and 50 adults.” --Layne Sheets, superintendent
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.
