Fairfield seniors, elementary students leave their mark on the school

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield High School seniors continued a tradition Friday of inviting kindergartners in the district to put their handprints and their names on ceiling tiles, which will be hung in the FHS Commons.

The seniors joined in the fun, too, adding their own handprints and names to the tiles. High school Principal Brian Stone said it was a great opportunity for the youngsters to spend time with the seniors on their last day of school. Since last year’s kindergartners missed this opportunity due to the pandemic, they were invited to do it this year as first-graders.

The tradition of putting handprints on ceiling tiles began at Libertyville Elementary School some 15 years ago. Brandi Strickler, then a kindergarten teacher at the school, wanted to give her students a chance to make their mark on the building that would last for years and years.

“I assumed I’d stay a kindergarten teacher and retire as a kindergarten teacher,” said Strickler, who now teaches third grade in Albia. “I thought it would be neat to see generations of handprints on the ceiling. That school has a big home feeling for a lot of parents and kids.”

Strickler started teaching in Libertyville in 2006, but it wasn’t until her fourth year that the school allowed her to put her class’s handprints on the ceiling tiles in her room. Though their hands were a little bigger by then, Strickler had her first kindergarten class, who were then fourth-graders, stick their hands in paint and place them on tiles. From then on, Strickler’s kindergartners continued this tradition on the last day of school each year.

Strickler left Libertyville after the 2013-14 school year to take a job in Albia, but the annual ceiling tile painting project continued under Libertyville’s new kindergarten teacher, Julie Rayburn.

Sadly, Libertyville Elementary School closed its doors in 2017. Strickler worried that the years of handprints would be tossed in the dumpster, but Fairfield High School Principal Brian Stone assured her they were in good hands.

“I called the school to ask if I could buy them,” Strickler said. “I didn’t want to see them thrown away.”

Stone moved the painted tiles from Libertyville into the Fairfield High School commons. He added another piece to the tradition, which was inviting the kindergartners to the high school to make their handprints with the help of the seniors, who put their footprints on the tiles, too. Strickler said she’s happy to see this custom continue with a new twist.

“It’s so cool because there’s an even greater sense of belonging at the school,” Strickler said.

When Strickler’s first kindergarten class graduated from Fairfield a few years ago, she took a day off from teaching in Albia to visit Fairfield for the handprint painting and to get a photo with her former pupils.