Last year, Haven Helps held a painting session where students could paint paw prints representing their clubs. This year on Sunday, April 28, a variety of clubs came together again to revamp their old paw print design and add new designs into the sidewalk leading to the senior parking lot.
The organizers of the paw print painting were senior Grace Kelly and junior Madison Benzing. They were eager to bring this idea back for a second year, and reminisced about why they started the tradition of paw prints last year.
“I came up with this idea because I really wanted to add color and brightness to the school,” Benzing said. “Originally, we were going to paint parking spots, but we were worried about the paint jobs getting destroyed. So we came up with the paw prints, which allowed so many amazing clubs to be represented.”
Around twenty clubs had signed up for a spot to paint a paw print, with over 30 people who came to paint a paw print or help out.
On April 24, Haven Helps members painted 20 white pawprints in preparation.
“We posted a form for the clubs that wanted to paint a paw print,” said Benzing. “They paid 20 dollars to help cover the supplies, and the day before all the clubs came, we had some club members help paint the plain paw prints.”
The painting session allowed students to express their creativity and enjoy spending time with other classmates.
Senior Chloe Browne helped to design and paint a paw for the girls track team.
“I really enjoyed painting with the other captains, and it was fun walking to school and seeing our design,” Browne said.“I think it was really relaxing just going out on a Sunday and not having to worry about schoolwork and having some time to enjoy something like this.”
Many students not only found the painting relaxing but also the weather. Sunday morning’s weather was bright and sunny, allowing the paint to dry fast.
“The weather was great,” junior Cate Whitehead said. “The heat allowed the paint to dry quickly and Mr. Benzing walked around with water for us.”
Students were satisfied with the final result and found the pawprint painting was a great way to express and enjoy themselves.
“The reason I enjoyed the pawprint painting was I found it as a great way to express myself,” freshman Maisie Sentivan said. “I loved seeing the final result of our paw print and getting to see what the rest of the pawprints looked like.”
Haven Helps adviser, Mrs. Beth Benzing, is thrilled that the second year of paw print painting helped build into the school community.
“It was completely student-run,” Benzing said. “We wanted to bring it back to fill up more of the sidewalk and include more of the clubs at Strath Haven.”
The paw prints on the sidewalk are not only here to stay but also to be expanded on. Haven Helps plans to add more unique and colorful paw prints each year.
“We will always be open to students’ ideas,” Benzing said. “We’ve had many discussions and different ideas. I like the final result, and I’m glad it will be expanding in the future.”
