COOPER CITY, FLA. (WSVN) - Schools across South Florida held a wide array of events in observance of the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as they paid tribute to the 17 lives lost.
Students, faculty and county officials gathered in front of the Miami-Dade County School Board Administration Building in Miami, Thursday.
Speaking through tears, iPrep Academy student Nina Janssens delivered an impassioned call to end gun violence at schools.
“We are students. We should be learning and thinking about our tests, not thinking about if we’re gonna get killed,” she said.
Students and administrators handed out 17 white roses, one for each of the MSD victims.
“The best way to remember, to never allow their memory to fade, is for us to change who we are, how we are with one another,” said Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
At Miami Lakes Middle School, students who formed a peace circle outside held up yellow roses.
“We are here to officially declare this week the Kindness Week,” said student Melanie Ulloa.
At BioTECH @ Richmond Heights in Southwest Miami-Dade, students gathered outside and formed a heart with the number 17 in the middle.
Thursday afternoon, students from Ransom Everglades High School in Coconut Grove held a peaceful walk.
Hours earlier, 7News cameras captured students at Hollywood Hills High School, their eyes closed as they observed a moment of silence. Students at this school also spent the morning in the courtyard, safe on campus but experiencing a day that was far from normal.
“We were worried about kids not coming to school today, but I am very happy that they’re here, that they’re smiling,” said Hollywood Hills principal Lourdes Gonzalez.
Down the street at Beachside Montessori Village, the glee club sang to parents and students as they arrived for the day.
“We wanted to spread cheer and love this morning and remind our community how much we love them and appreciate them,” said music teacher Nicole Murillo.
Students at Seminole Middle School in Plantation unveiled a mural about working together as a community.
“We want to bring light to the fact that we are all in this together in this society,” said principal Kathy Marlow.
At Fort Lauderdale High School, students wrote messages on painted rocks and sat in silence in their classrooms, their hearts heavy for their Parkland peers.
At nearby St. Thomas Aquinas High School, 17 empty desks were placed outside, as students broke down in tears remembering the victims.
“These parents don’t have their kids. These families don’t have people they love on Valentine’s Day like today,” said St. Thomas Aquinas senior David Brennan.
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