Sugarbeeters Are Going Places

In 2015 when she began teaching science classes at Chinook High School, Jeri Wood noticed a disturbing trend-students were opting out of advanced science classes. To inspire them, she decided that any students who had taken non-mandatory science courses both junior and senior year would get to place a handprint on the east wall of the science room.

"When I started in Chinook, my upper level classes were small. It seemed like after students took their two mandatory science classes, they were choosing not to take more. I wanted to motivate students to continue on in science. From that goal, the Wall of Fame/Handprint Wall was born," Wood explained.

"It took forever to choose a quote that fit what I was going for, but after I found the Dr. Seuss quote, it all seemed to just fall together. When I started the wall, the qualification was that students had to have taken science junior and senior year with me. After I became the only high school science teacher, it shifted to their needing to be in my classes all four years."

With the graduating class of 2017, six students earned the privilege of leaving an imprint on the wall: Brooke Elliot, Kyler Johnson, Cerastina Nobles, Wade Schneider, Sydney Chaffin, and Rochelle Chaffin.

Since those beginnings, additional handprints have joined the six originals, bringing the total to 38. Inked in black and orange, these Sugarbeeter hands flank a quote by Theodor Geisel who wrote under the pseudonym, Dr. Seuss: "You're off to great places; today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so . . . get on your way!"

The line is from a Dr. Seuss book published in 1990, Oh, the Places You'll Go! It communicates a message about transitioning into the different stages of life. As the story progresses, Seuss reminds us that we have to take action to reach our goals. Sometimes that means "climbing mountains" to get over difficult or challenging trials to reach those "great places." Because of its inspirational and motivational message, the book is often gifted to graduates or to those who will be taking on a new job.

Although there isn't a set day when seniors add their handprints to the Handprint Wall, the ritual typically occurs during the last week of school for the seniors. According to Wood, last year during the COVID shut down, there was a lot of panic from seniors about not getting to put their hands up, but the science students accomplished that task during school check out procedures.

This year, as she prepares to leave Chinook High School (CHS) and move to Butte, Wood is feeling especially nostalgic since Seuss' storyline pertains directly to her. Not just the quote on her current classroom wall but other aspects of the book will apply because no matter our age, we can discover new places, meet new friends, and find new people and things to fall in love with. However, those discoveries take time and may mean "bang-ups and hang-ups . . . and slumps." Despite the reality of a Waiting Place, where Wood may have to chill out for a while as she considers her next steps, there is always hope, provided she heeds Seuss' advice and takes the necessary steps and "just never forgets to be dexterous and deft."

Wood reported, "I have had a wonderful six years at CHS, and getting to add my own hand to the wall of such an amazing group of young people is an honor. It's also very bittersweet."