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MICHELE MILLERSeventh-graders plant flowers and release butterflies to celebrate the joyful spirit of a lost classmate.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Between signing yearbooks and saying goodbye for the summer, the students in Team 7F at River Ridge Middle School managed to create a permanent spot - a butterfly garden - in memory of a classmate named Amanda Zampella.
"It was a lot of hard work," said seventh-grader Kyle Turner. "But it was worth it - it really looks nice."
Students had toiled in a center courtyard for weeks. They planted a crape myrtle tree donated by Team B students that would bloom purple - Amanda's favorite color. There were hoards of colorful flowers donated by the Exceptional Education Education department that would attract and feed local butterflies. They painted a fence and mulched and threw a fundraiser that would pay for it all, along with a plaque for Amanda that would bear words of Nathaniel Hawthorne.:
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is just beyond your grasp . . . but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."
Amanda was in the seventh-grade and just shy of her 13th birthday when she died in January, after a battle with a genetic disease called ataxia telangiectasia. "A-T" is a progressive, degenerative disease that mimics many childhood diseases, affecting muscle control and the immune system. All the while the brain remains sharp.
On Wednesday, students and teachers, along with Amanda's immediate family and friends, held a special dedication in her honor. Everything was covered with butterflies - from the multi-colored balloons and the wind chimes hanging in the trees to the tablecloths and tissue boxes laid out for those who would spill tears.
Then there were the live butterflies, released by Amanda's classmates. They dispersed quickly while the school's symphonic band played Danny Boy, save for one that fluttered above the heads of the audience before finding a resting place on a nearby wall.
She was known for her quick smile and determination despite the setbacks the disease threw her, so it seemed appropriate that the students would choose a butterfly garden to memorialize Amanda, said her geography teacher, Erik Hermansen.
"She had an infectious smile and a love for school that spilled over onto her classmates," he said, recalling how Amanda would reluctantly push the horn on her wheelchair at his request as a way to quiet her classmates. "She was always happy, and she loved butterflies."
"She was great; she was awesome," said her friend, Travis Tindell, who had known Amanda since they were fourth-graders at Cotee River Elementary School. "Every time I saw her she was always smiling."
Danielle Johns, a recent graduate at River Ridge High School, was Amanda's helper for the last two school years, assisting in writing assignments when Amanda grew too weary. "She did more for me than I ever did for her," said Danielle. "You never realize how much a younger person can teach you. I learned about love and patience, about looking past the physical."
Amanda took her setbacks in stride, said her mother, Adrienne Zampella, who spoke at the ceremony. She was flanked by her husband, Mike, and son, Michael, who sowed wildflowers in the shade of the crape myrtle tree.
"If she were here she'd probably be wondering what the fuss was about. She was accepting. She did not become bitter when she had to use a wheelchair. She had the capability to live life to the fullest despite her disease. She taught us about courage and unconditional love," Mrs. Zampella said.
"I think she fulfilled God's promise, then he called her home.
"Now she lives in the hearts and minds of all of us."