Hundreds of sticky notes with rainbows, images of cats just “hanging in there” and words of encouragement from Scott Creek middle school were dropped off at Montgomery middle last week to help in the recovery after a vandalism spree that caused thousands of dollars of damage.
Monty principal Rob McFaul, who received the package from Scott Creek principal Lisa Rinke and vice-principal Laurie Sviatko last Wednesday, said the gesture provided a glimmer of hope after a few days of gloom.
“I saw kids stopping and reading them. There was a reach-out — with people offering ‘what can we do to help?' — but here is something that went beyond.”
Sviatko, who coordinated the effort, said Scott Creek wanted to do something to make the Monty community feel better.
The idea came from the response to the riot in downtown Vancouver after the Canucks lost in the 2011 Stanley Cup final, when positive messages were drawn on plywood covering shop windows that had been smashed.
“We though maybe we could do something like that. It will take them forever for [broken windows] to be fixed. They are going to be looking at that cardboard for a long time,” Sviatko said, adding that the Scott Creek students “totally embraced it.”
The messages of goodwill couldn’t have come at a better time because a parent night had been planned for that evening.
McFaul said the night where parents meet their children's teachers was almost cancelled in the wake of the weekend vandalism but he decided to go ahead anyway. When parents saw hundreds of sticky notes on cardboard, their curiosity turned into smiles, he said, noting: “It offered a glimmer of positivity and a nice message for people to see.”
Coquitlam RCMP continue to investigate the incident, which saw about 80 interior and exterior windows broken, along with glass in a trophy case and a vending machine.
McFaul said the glaziers have measured the windows for replacement but it’s too soon to say when the repair work will be completed.
