An invisible hand sculpts everyone in life, a hand that forms and molds before firing into the final design of adulthood. That hand belongs to a great artisan, one who carefully decorates and adorns each person with


experiences and memories. That artist is high school and students are its clay.
It would have been a typical March day for FHN, students came, bells rang, class continued, however two desks would remain empty. In 2004 after a freak accident a school recoiled from a blind-sided sucker punch. Two students were dead leaving behind a mess of shattered friends and a deep-seated realization that no one is invincible.
Stumbling forward school continued and the healing process began. Counselors were available for those who needed to talk, and some FHN staff members brought a glint of light into the inky uncertainty.
“It was my second year teaching, and there was devastation across the building. When you’re in college to become a teacher you aren’t taught how to deal with something like that,” English teacher and TASC sponsor Dawn Jones said. “The only thing I could think to do was try to make a positive out of something so tragic.”
After a month and a half of research into Saint Louis and county area schools and sitting in on meetings Jones spread the word to her classes. What started as an idea to help students advocate smart choices become a school wide event and in its first year Dawn Jones started over 80 students strong.
“By the following year we had about 40 dedicated members. The first Click-A-Thon had 120 kids show up,” Jones said. “Slowly members began to disappear and we had to change.”
As the members of TASC dwindled school went on as usual, and over time the awareness of consequences and safety was replaced with recklessness. Due to the fact that students are prone to unsafe choices FHN implemented a variety of precautions in order to keep them safe. From Breathalyzer tests at dances and events, pre-prom assemblies, and drug testing, even new students see how the school actually dedicates itself to student welfare.
“It’s for our safety, they don’t want one of us to be harmed,” freshman and new member of the Francis Howell school district Natasha Galenski said. “After high school we are starting a new chapter in our lives, they are responsible for getting us there safely and want what’s best.”
While the school did its part students stopped doing theirs. In order to counter this TASC began to enforce positive choices instead of consequences feeding hundreds of local families over the holidays by sponsoring a penny war. The club still holds onto the dark reality that helped it to come into existence; drunk driving. Sponsoring the pre-prom assembly to promote sobriety. Their membership however dropped to a new low. With the memory of the tragic incident that brought a school together now four years in the past some feel its just a matter of time before students are shaken back to reality.
“Since it’s been so long since a major school loss people just forget,” senior and former TASC member Stefany Gregory said. “Until something new happens people think they are invincible.”
Despite a drop in student activity TASC and the rest of the school will be on hand to help students for the next big eye opener.
“When you make a bad choice it’s like dropping a stone in a still pond. The ripples keep going until the whole pond is impacted,” Jones said. “Each person has such a huge impact on the people around them and every bad decision jeopardizes the lives of countless others. You choose your legacy and you don’t want it to be heartache.”
By shaping decisions, molding imperfections, and sculpting smart choices high school can only do so much. It’s up to the clay when it’s time to dry and with that it’s up to the students to make the right decisions.