Vernon Middle School

For the past three years, Coakley Middle School athletes have made it a tradition to spread holiday cheer by visiting their feeder campuses and gifting toys to future students.

Each year, they choose a different campus to visit. This year, Coakley students delivered 330 toys to Bowie Elementary.

“Our kids look forward to giving back to their former campus and future Coakley Cougars,” Coakley Athletic Coordinator Armando Garza said. “They really enjoy giving back to the community and having fun with the kids.”

The toys were collected as part of a school dance, where students brought an unwrapped toy as their entry fee. Coakley student-athletes then helped wrap the gifts before delivering them to Bowie Elementary.

“I feel good about giving presents to little kids because I know they’ll have fun, and it shows them what they can look forward to in middle school,” said Coakley 8th-grader Bryanna Heiskell.

The presents, along with plenty of smiles, were delivered on December 19.

“I want to thank the Coakley coaches and staff for coming and bringing some Christmas cheer,” Bowie Elementary Principal Sabrina Garza said. “The kids here are amazing, and they’re so thankful for any gifts they receive. It was so kind of the Coakley students to take time out of their schedules to spread Christmas cheer here with us.”