Class of 2021 Booster Club makes pandemic graduation special

Seniors at Northport High School have been through a lot this past year. Although their parents are amazed by their ability to adjust to the “new norm” throughout the pandemic, they recognize their children are also starved for normalcy. The events that occur during a typical senior year have been stripped from the Class of 2021, but a group of loving and ambitious moms have come together to duplicate the experiences that make this pinnacle year so special.

The Class of 2021 Booster Club is made up of a core group of 14 moms who came together on Facebook to share ideas on ways to make this year special for the seniors. After chatting about gift ideas and events, the group decided to launch a GoFundMe page to collect donations from fellow parents and community members. With the help of their community, these women have brought some much needed excitement into the senior year experience.

Amy Connor, mom of seniors William (a future chef) and James (a future computer science major), explained, “This is what happens when you get a bunch of moms together. We first started talking in January, and about two weeks later we raised $8,000.” She added, “Once we decide we’re going to do something, we get it done really fast.”

Originally the plan was to use the funds for special gifts and events that would be presented to the seniors on the 21st (for the Class of 2021) of every month leading up to graduation. But working around the constraints of the pandemic was tricky. “We just tried to get the fire started and get some thinking going on, things that could be done within the parameters that the school district had set out in regards to their Covid-19 policy,” said Jen Gallagher, mother of varsity football team quarterback and varsity lacrosse team defender, Conner.

The first gift presented to the 458 members of the senior class was a wrapped pack of blue and gold star-shaped cookies, generously donated by Copenhagen Bakery. Each cookie pack came with a little note reading “No matter how the cookie crumbles, you are the best class around.”

“There was a sense of life that came out of all the kids from it,”said Laura Bratchie, mom of Max, a member of the school marching band and varsity soccer team. “There was excitement because someone had been recognizing them.” Each month, the gifts get bigger and better. The second gift was a personalized chocolate bar, which was given out to each student in February. And in March, the booster club gave out paw-print lanyards and phone packets with the letter “N” on the back. The club intended these Northport-related gifts to be something the seniors could take to college to remember where they came from when they began to miss home.

Next, the moms posted signs along the Northport High School fences, reading “Seniors 2021” and “Congrats Seniors!” They also decorated the school’s common area with team signs and congratulatory banners. This was meant to “bring life” into the area, which was very bare beforehand, and to celebrate the 100 days before graduation.

Keri Wagner, whose son Ryan is a football player heading to University of Buffalo next year, explained, “What’s neat about this group is that most of us did not know each other at all, but I was sharing the same frustration, we were all sad for these kids, and it was really, truly about giving the kids something. There was an opportunity for us to do something.”

“We are a great representation of all the different groups of kids that Northport has,” Jen added. “Some of our kids are athletes, some are in the marching band, some are fully remote, some are full-time. As moms, we kind of represent every segment within the school, and we’ve all come together.”

For the remainder of the school year, the gifts will keep on coming and the booster club is working on planning experiences that can mimic what a typical senior would enjoy. “We keep bringing ideas to Principal Danbusky and he listens to us. We are always putting the kids first. And aside from the gift giving, we are constantly brainstorming ways to make this year better for these kids,” said Tracy Bernson, mother of Aaron, who is in the AOF (Academy of Finance) Program and Business Honor Society, and plays on the volleyball team.

In April, each senior received a class T-shirt, which, in years past, the students would have designed and purchased themselves, but weren’t able to this year. The shirts instead came from the Booster Club, with the help of local business Map Custom T-Shirts in Commack. Also on the agenda is Senior Night on May 6, at Mario’s Pizza, which is to celebrate 50 days until graduation.

The moms explained that the seniors are pretty bummed about their circumstances this year. They are happy to be back, but there are still so many restrictions at school. They don’t complain because they want to be there, and they’re willing to do whatever they have to do to stay there. While the moms are floored by their children’s ability to adjust to the changes, they know that they are missing out on so many memorable aspects of graduating. That’s exactly why the Class of 2021 Booster Club is on a mission to provide some sense of normalcy and they promise even more surprises in the coming weeks.

If you want to get involved with the Class of 2021 Booster Club as the year winds down, you can email NHSseniorparents@gmail.com or reach out via Facebook at NHS Class of 2021 Booster Club. If you’re a parent of a remote or quarantined student, the moms will happily deliver to your home. If you’d like to donate, you can contribute using their GoFundMe page.