The HISD press office has sent out an interesting story about Marshall Middle School. Here’s an excerpt:
Before the coaches and players of Marshall University’s football team meet the University of Houston on the playing field, they will take time out of their busy schedule to meet the staff and students of HISD’s Marshall Middle School. The team will visit on Friday, November 16, around 1:30 p.m.
The students and staff at the HISD school feel a special affinity for Marshall University for two reasons. Both are named after the fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, the faculty and staff were motivated by the movie, “We Are Marshall” which tells the story of the comeback of Marshall’s football team after losing almost the entire team and coaching staff in a tragic plane crash on November 14, 1970.
Each faculty and staff member viewed the movie during a staff development day in August, and came away so inspired that they decided to adopt “We Are Marshall” as the school slogan.
When English department chair and journalism teacher Thelma Johnson learned that the current Marshall team would be coming to Houston, she organized a school-wide letter-writing campaign to invite the team to visit. More than 900 letters were mailed to the university and the team accepted the invitation.
Johnson said, “The letters written by our students show them that having the ability to communicate an idea effectively can make a difference.”
This Cougar fan will not be describing himself with the motto “We are Marshall” this weekend, but it’s still kind of a nice story.
