Rogers Elementary School is a community that supports each other. Arianna Villalobos was a student at Rogers Elementary and went on to Terrace Hills Middle and Grand Terrace High School. She experienced bullying and she knew how it felt to be picked on. Even though she experienced this, she always supported every one of her classmates -even the bully. We know this bench will create new friendships and kindness will be passed on for generations. Ari will always be remembered for her kind spirit, her relentless compassion and selfless love for friends and those around her. She was an amazing example. When our staff heard the heartbreaking news of Ari's passing we thought it would be a great idea to memorialize her beautiful life by dedicating a Buddy Bench in her honor. Mrs. Slocum and Ms. Pedroza were very excited to see this project come together. Rogers ASB students lead by Miss Davis (5th grade teacher) and Miss Adams (5th grade teacher) raised money to purchase supplies to remodel an existing playground bench. Ms. Saldana (TOA) painted and decorated the bench with the help of Mrs. Robinson (TOA), Mrs. Torres (kindergarten teacher) and Mrs. Reyes (1st grade teacher).
For many years our teachers wanted to designate a spot on the playground where students can go when they might be feeling alone or sad. The buddy bench is a place where other students can help them through their day by being a kind friend to them by asking them to play or how they are doing. As we thought about what an amazing and genuinely loving friend Ari always was as a student here at Rogers, we knew that this would be a perfect time to do it.
October 23, 2019, we dedicated a buddy bench in honor of Ari Villalobos. We tied this special event with our district wide Unity Day. It is a day where the global community says "no child should ever experience bullying." It is a day where new friendships begin and kindness overpowers hate. For this reason, a special "Raccoon Buddy Bench" will be a place where a child can go when they need someone to talk to. It is our responsibility to be there to listen when we see someone sitting on this bench. It is also our responsibility to include those students so that they have support against bullies. Arianna Villalobos was a student at Rogers Elementary and went on to Terrace Hills Middle and Grand Terrace High School. She experienced bullying and she knew how it felt to be picked on. Even though she experienced this, she always supported every one of her classmates -even the bully. We know this bench will create new friendships and kindness will be passed on for generations.
Although Ari was no longer a student here at Rogers, she began the foundations of her education here and is a Raccoon alumni. She was the epitome of being a kind friend to everyone and a role model to our students here at Rogers. We are honored we had many years to watch Ari grow into the incredibly smart, creative, loving and strong young lady that she was. Her legacy of kindness will live on forever in our hearts and we will share her memories with our students through our Buddy Bench forever.