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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
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Briarwood Christian School
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Briarwood's Operation Senior Surprise
Members of Briarwood Christian School’s class of 2020 got a surprise on Monday morning, as Operation Senior Surprise deliveries were made to the homes of all 143 graduates.
BCS Principal Dr. Shawn Brower said that as it became clear the end of the school year was going to be quite different than what most schools historically do, the school’s leadership team asked how they could end the year the best they could under the COVID-19 circumstances.
“Our Dean of Discipleship, Bryan White, had the idea and we started working on what a plan would look like to canvas the greater Birmingham area,” Brower said.
Brower said they began canvasing addresses from the school’s database and dropped them into Google maps then divided the areas into 14 zones and planned to pull off the surprise for senior week, the week of April 27.
“For senior week, we wanted to kick it off well,” he said. “We started on Monday at 8 a.m making deliveries to all the students.”
Brower communicated with parents prior to the surprise letting them know he would need their help making sure their students were out of bed before they arrived. They used a phone app to put in the addresses and shared it with the parents so they would have an estimated time of arrival.
Over 30 volunteers, including school superintendent Dr. Stephen Steiner, went out in 14 teams to surprise the seniors with their cap and gown, yearbooks, school t-shirts, a beach towel, wristbands, photos from spring athletic events, an annual pass to all athletic events next year and more.
“Big kudos to Bryan White, he did so much of the background organization, ordering items and on Saturday, we had a team of folks who came packed the bags,” Brower said.
Brower and his team made 22 deliveries and said it was fun to see the students' faces when they arrived in the Briarwood bus with flags and the mascot Louie the Lion. He said he has already received feedback from the parents on how meaningful it was that they made individual home visits. Some students even put on their caps and gowns and took pictures in front of the school bus.
“I think it kicked off senior week well,” Brower said. “The end of the year is supposed to be fun and exciting and we were trying to make it special for them.”
As for graduation, which was originally set to take place at Briarwood Presbyterian Church on May 17, Brower said they are working on plans, but don’t have anything finalized yet, but hopes to announce a plan soon.
