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Cotton Yarborough, left, and Marshall Linn, center, open a folder containing their butterfly as Krisi Astell and Olivia Wilson, right, watch. CANDACE C. MUNDY/Tribune photo

Wishes On Wings

By REBEKAH CHRYSLER DOUGHTY
The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 24, 2006

CARROLLWOOD - Marshall Linn was less than thrilled Monday when his butterfly did not take off as soon as he opened the envelope to set it free during a class butterfly release.

As part of an annual ritual, Marshall and his classmates at Independent Day School in Carrollwood celebrated their first day of school by whispering their wishes to each of 21 butterflies before allowing them to flutter away.

Only Marshall's did not flutter; therefore, he was concerned about his wish.

But after everyone else had gone inside to prepare for lunch, teacher Jennifer Jones took Marshall, 6, over to the tree where his butterfly was perched and watched as he gave it a gentle nudge.

Finally, the last butterfly was in flight and for the first time all morning, a smile broke across Marshall's face.

"Marshall, you made it fly!" Jones said. "It was just waiting for you to touch it so it could make your wish come true."

Jones and partner teacher Sammi Borosh had spent the better part of the morning talking to the children - a combined class of first- and second-graders - about teamwork, the importance of setting goals and the metamorphosis they were likely to experience throughout the school year.

The children made colorful paper butterflies, which "flew" across the room each time they would tell their partners something else about themselves. They then discussed some of the many wishing traditions in the United States.

"There are a lot of similarities between butterflies and the kids," Jones said. "We tell them how they'll soar this year, how they'll spread their wings and fly."

The lessons in the classroom were meant to build up to the release, Borosh said.

"It's important for them to know that we care about them enough to do something so special on their first day," she said. "There's a lot of symbolism for us as teachers."

Although Ahmad Everett wouldn't reveal his wish for fear that it wouldn't come true, the 6-year-old said the release was definitely a surprise and by far the best part of the morning.

"It always goes so great, but this year, everything kind of just fell into place," Jones said. "The fact that the butterfly seemed to have waited for Marshall really made his day."

Reporter Rebekah Chrysler Doughty can be reached at (813) 865-1508 or rdoughty @tampatrib.com.