During Lincoln Elementary’s daily moment of silence Feb. 15, the message and thoughts were directed toward NIU.

The televised morning announcements made by Lincoln Elementary principal Christy Meyer that Friday morning informed the students to think about things that are important to them and to think about their friends at NIU.

Teachers also fielded questions and comments from the young students within the classroom, informing the students how police and hospitals handled the situation and how the community is coming together for support.

The elementary school also held an assembly regarding the tragedy. Anne Senn, a student teacher from Lincoln Elementary who attends NIU, arranged for 38 student-athletes to come to the assembly to talk with students about the Feb. 14 shootings. The athletes spoke to the children about the value of school and working hard to achieve their dreams.

The elementary students were dressed in red and black and sang the Huskie Fight Song as the students entered the assembly.

After the assembly, the NIU athletes visited the students in the classroom and answered questions.

Meyer said during the assembly one student asked one of the athletes from NIU if he was scared. The student athlete, without hesitation, replied, “No I am not, and you shouldn’t be either.”

“We gained so much by hearing their message,” Meyer said. “It was a positive message to the children to know that their friends at NIU are safe and together.”

Wendy Kuryliw, secretary at Lincoln Elementary, designed cards that were colored by elementary students and sent to NIU to show support.

“It really was a combined effort from principals and district officials,” Kuryliw said. “We all talked together to discuss the different ways children can express their feelings over what happened.”

The cards were colored by elementary students across the DeKalb school district. “Forward, Together Forward” was above an NIU Huskie logo on the cards, as well as a message welcoming back NIU students to school with a place for the children to put their first names.

At Lincoln Elementary, the cards were colored during the five-minute moment of silence that took place exactly one week after the tragedy at 3:06 p.m.
“It was a way for the students to think about our friends at NIU,” Meyer said.

The cards are displayed outside the Student Association office in the Campus Life Building.

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