MATTAPOISETT _ After hearing the story of her friend's evacuation from Ukraine, Amy Casi, a teacher at Old Hammondtown School, invited fifth-grade students to make banners of hope and support for Ukrainian children.

 

Casi's friend, a fellow teacher of fifth-graders at Kyiv International School, left the country during the voluntary evacuations for Americans and is currently staying in Texas with her family.

 

Teaching her elementary students remotely, some of whom are still in Ukraine, is especially difficult during this time because of the current situation in their country, the speed with which the evacuations had to happen, and the time zones of the various countries where students are now living, Casi reports.

 

Fifth-grader William Lucy thought it was important to participate in the project to show, "our support and hope for the students and their country."

 

"Yes, it shows our respect for what they are going through," said Wyatt Churchill, and also that "we are on their side, rooting for them," agreed Fiona Payne.

 

Casi's friend said she is so grateful for the caring and support from students at Old Hammondtown school. She plans to hang the banners behind her in the background as she teaches so that her students know they are not alone.