Sanford Middle School's Sources of Strength Peer Leaders welcomed the school community to a bright and meaningful celebration on Monday, May 18, as students gathered outside near the flagpole during Spartan Time for the school's Yellow Tulip Project Mental Health Celebration.
As students arrived for the day, they were greeted with yellow smiley face stickers before heading outside at 7:50 a.m. to admire tulips that had been quietly growing since October. Student speakers addressed their peers on the importance of mental health, and the group took a few moments to simply enjoy the morning and the cheerful blooms before heading back inside, short, sweet, and right on time.
Several of SMS's student groups joined the Peer Leaders for the occasion, including the Civil Rights Team, Jobs for Maine's Graduates (JMG), and Student Leaders, reflecting the wide reach of the school's commitment to student wellbeing.
The Yellow Tulip Project, which originates from Portland, Maine, is a suicide prevention effort designed for Mental Health Awareness Month. Its symbolism is simple and powerful: last fall, when the days were short and cold, SMS students planted tulip bulbs in the ground. Months later, those bulbs bloomed into bright yellow flowers, a living metaphor for the way mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, or thoughts of suicide can improve with help, support, and time. The tulips represent hope.
Monday's color palette carried extra meaning: green, the official color of Mental Health Awareness Month, and yellow, the color of the tulips. Students and staff were encouraged to wear one or both.
Behind the celebration is SMS's Sources of Strength club, made up of approximately 30 students in grades 6 through 8 who are nominated by their teachers as emerging leaders. Many of these students aren't involved in other leadership programs, making Sources of Strength a particularly valuable space for diverse student voices. Together with their advisers, they develop awareness campaigns around the issues middle schoolers face most.
Sources of Strength is a nationally recognized, evidence-based suicide prevention program. SMS has been home to the club for three years, supported in part by a grant from NAMI Maine. The program is guided by school counselors Angela Avery, Colleen Quartararo, Vickie Thomas, and Reuben Christie, along with social worker Brent Coleman, outreach worker Cecilia Sirianni, PE/Health teacher Jen Pinette, and art teacher Sam Lynn.