PHOTOS: Community members keep promise to ‘Be There’ for West Seattle Elementary students’ first day

Thousands of students in our area went back to school today – but before the day began at West Seattle Elementary, staff and supporters literally rolled out the red carpet, subsequently lined with cheering fans:

This smile-inducing scene from early this morning was the second annual “Be There” rally at WSES.

Taking inspiration from an event back East, community members were invited to show their support with high-fives for the arriving students:

The West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) co-sponsored the event, explained in detail in the announcement we published two weeks ago.

It’s an exciting start to the year not only for WSES’s students but also for the school’s second-year principal Pamela McCowan-Conyers:

Again this year, we spotted our area’s City Councilmember Lisa Herbold in the “Be There” crowd:

(P.S. She has a community Q&A at tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting.)

Anything cool at YOUR school, today or beyond, please let us know so we can share the news!

10 Replies to "PHOTOS: Community members keep promise to 'Be There' for West Seattle Elementary students' first day"

  • LarryB September 6, 2017 (2:44 pm)

    I wish this had a “like” button. So great to see kids being encouraged by the community!

  • pagefive September 6, 2017 (6:09 pm)

    I love this so much! What a beautiful way to welcome students to a new school year.

  • RSO September 6, 2017 (10:59 pm)

    I’m so happy to see that the event was a big success again this year!  What a fantastic school and wonderful community!

  • Hannah Yates September 7, 2017 (9:38 am)

    Love this so much! Would it be okay to share this as a community post on Buzzfeed? 

    • WSB September 7, 2017 (9:50 am)

      I don’t know exactly what you mean by that, but you are welcome to share *a link* anywhere you want (right click the headline to get the URL, or use the ShareThis link) – that’s the whole point of the web – and point people to our story here so they can see it. Our photos and copy are copyrighted and cannot simply be republished on some other website without permission; if you are a writer or editor you are welcome to e-mail us so we could discuss the request – editor@westseattleblog.com – TR

  • Hannah Yates September 7, 2017 (1:08 pm)

    That’s okay, I am just a regular reader and thought this would be a cool story to share, but it would involve reposting all the imagery and doing a writeup rather than just sharing a link. Anyway, great story and photos!

  • Pamela McCowan-Conyers September 7, 2017 (1:09 pm)

    Absolutely and “thank you”!

  • Bus rider September 7, 2017 (5:20 pm)

    Thank you Spiderman (aka Mr. Young) for organizing this with the school. I love this and wish all schools had it. Inspiring!

    • Sarah Laws September 7, 2017 (11:01 pm)

      Actually, I met the organizer at the rally last year and his name is Jay Smith. This was such an awesome event. I’m so glad to have participated two years in a row!

  • Math Educator September 8, 2017 (10:18 pm)

    Wow. I am extremely proud to be from West Seattle! Remember the name Jeremy “Jay” Smith. I heard him speak a few years ago and was inspired by his passion and charisma. He was also featured in a SPS video last year about his connection with students. I am surprised he isn’t on the “African American Male Advisory Committee”

    There is an uphill battle to change that negative stereotypes of black men that abound. I would love to see a spotlight on him and his work in the future.

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