Vigil For Manchester's Fallen Hawks Planned; Students Seeking Help

MANCHESTER, NJ — A group of students at Manchester Township High School are planning a candlelight vigil to honor the memories of students and staff members who died during their time at the high school.

Students and staff who have died during their years at Manchester Township High School are honored in the Fallen Hawks Memorial Garden, a memorial to students and staff outdoors in the center of the high school.

The garden has been maintained since 2021 by the high school's Leadership Seminar class, with each year's class taking on efforts to improve the garden, which includes personalized plaques on the garden wall, honoring each person.

The 2024 class is aiming to hold the vigil to take the memorial to a new level, and they are seeking assistance from the community to make the vigil more special for the families.

The Leadership Seminar students, who presented their plans to the Manchester Township Board of Education, are looking for the following items to fulfill their vision for an evening of candlelight, butterflies, food, and words of remembrance:

• Monetary and/or gift card donations to purchase butterflies, candles, and general event supplies;
• Food and beverage donations from local restaurants and businesses;
• Gift cards from restaurants and local businesses to purchase refreshments;
• Landscaping support to help freshen up the garden and gazebo, remove dead plants, and landscape the pond, and flower donations.

Anyone willing to make a donation to support the MTHS Leadership Seminar students in this project can contact their teacher, Sarah Paturzo, at spaturzo@mtschools.org.

Donations can be mailed directly to:
Manchester Township High School
Leadership Seminar Event c/o Mrs. Sarah Paturzo
101 Hawks Way
Manchester, NJ 08759

The students are hoping for monetary or gift card donations to be sent by April 1, 2024, to provide them enough time to order the event supplies and food.

The Fallen Hawks Memorial Garden was created in 2012 by members of the Class of 2014 to honor those who passed away while they were students or staff members at the high school. The Class of 2014 experienced the loss of multiple classmates and teachers, which motivated them to create this space in remembrance of their peers.

The Leadership Seminar students from the 2020-2021 school year took on the project of restoring, improving, and gaining approval for the reopening of the garden. Since its reopening in the Spring of 2021, each year's Leadership Class thereafter has taken on the responsibility of maintaining and improving the Memorial Garden annually.

The Fallen Hawks Memorial Garden website has additional information about the garden, including the names of those memorialized.