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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Wade Streeter, a senior at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., talks to fellow students at a See You at the Pole gathering in the school courtyard on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., sing a worship song during a See You at the Pole gathering in the school courtyard on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Devin Riley, a senior at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., sings a worship song during a See You at the Pole gathering in the school courtyard on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., pray during a See You at the Pole gathering on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Amber Roper, at left, and Andrew Smith, on the guitar, two former Hoover City Schools students who are now at Highlands College, lead in a song during the See You at the Pole gathering at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Amber Roper, a former Hoover City Schools student who is now at Highlands College, sings a song during a See You at the Pole gathering at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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A student leads in prayer during a See You at the Pole gathering at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo shared by First Priority of Greater Birmingham
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Students gather to pray during the See You at the Pole event at Chelsea High School on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo shared by First Priority of Greater Birmingham
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More than 300 students gathered at Oak Mountain MIddle School for the See You at the Pole prayer event on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
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Photo shared by First Priority of Greater Birmingham
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More than 300 students gathered to pray at the See You at the Pole prayer event at Oak Mountain Middle School on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.
More than 1,000 students showed up for See You at the Pole prayer events at schools in the U.S. 280 corridor this morning, according to First Priority, a Christian organization promoting the gatherings.
The events seem particularly popular with middle school children, with more than 300 showing up at Oak Mountain Middle and about 250 students coming to pray at both Berry Middle and Chelsea Middle, said Debi DeBoer, the Hoover and Shelby County area leader for First Priority.
There were about 100 students reported praying at Oak Mountain High School and about 60 each at Spain Park and Chelsea high schools. Chelsea Park Elementary had about 70 students for See You at the Pole, and Forest Oak Elementary in Chelsea had about 45, DeBoer said.
At Spain Park High, the students gathered in the courtyard, sang worship songs, broke into groups by grade for prayer and then came back together for more worship and a final prayer before heading off to class.
Spain Park High School See You at the Pole 2015 song
Amber Roper and Andrew Smith, two former Hoover City Schools students who now attend Highlands College, lead a song during the See You at the Pole prayer gathering at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. (Video by Jon Anderson)
The event was organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and First Priority clubs at the school.
“We think it’s a great way to start off the school year,” said Olivia Pride, a Spain Park 10th-grader who helped lead the sophomores in prayer.
There are a lot of students with different beliefs at school, and this is a way to bring students together and remember to keep God as their main focus during the school year, she said.
Wade Streeter, a senior in the Fellowship of Christian athletes, said the whole purpose of the event was for people to come together, glorify Jesus Christ and lift up prayers for one another and their community.
Students face so much anxiety and stress and personal problems, and it’s important for others to know that people care about them and what happens to them, Streeter said.
Spain Park High School 2015 See You at the Pole prayer
Wade Streeter, a senior at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala., leads a prayer during the See You at the Pole prayer gathering in the courtyard at the school before classes began on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. (Video by Jon Anderson)
Across the Birmingham metro area, See You at the Pole gatherings were planned to occur this morning at roughly 250 schools, according to First Priority.
See You at the Pole is held every year on the fourth Wednesday in September. It started at a Texas school in 1990 and has spread across the globe. More than 2 million students typically gather each year for the event.
Learn more about See You at the Pole and First Priority of Alabama.
