“Bulldog Strong” display on football field fence gives message of unity, hope

The phrase “Bulldog Strong” has become a rallying cry for staff and students at Hampton-Dumont-CAL schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures.

The phrase symbolizes the strength of the communities within the H-D-CAL district and reminds people that the district is a united family. Now, that phrase has been brought to life thanks to the hands of several district staff members.

The words “Bulldog Strong,” along with a picture of the Bulldog logo, stretch across a portion of the high school football field. The eye catching black and red message is a vivid reminder that no one is alone in this time.

“We’re looking for ways to show the kids, all the kids, all the way down to preschool that we are thinking of them and even though it’s hard right now, it won’t always be that way,” said Nikki Donnenwerth, English instructor and publications manager at H-D-CAL High School, who organized the project. “This is something for the whole community, the students, the teachers to walk or drive by every day and know we’re all in this together.”

Donnenwerth said the project received overwhelming support from staff from the start, which only added to the weight of the message. Donnenwerth saw similar signs on fences through social media and eventually found a company from which to get the materials. She put out an inquiry to her fellow teachers to see if they would be interested in purchasing sets of the materials, which come in sets of 50.

“I put out an email one night that I had the idea and if anyone wanted to contribute, whatever the message is is dependent on how many people wanted to buy one,” she said. “When I woke up, the email had blown up and we had about 55 sets purchased by teachers, so we could do something cool.”

The next step was a design. Donnenwerth said she had some ideas, but Lydia Davis, a science instructor at the high school, returned a design that would eventually be the model that now lines the fence.

The next step was to take the design from the paper to the fence. Donnenwerth said staff volunteered and worked in small, social distancing appropriate groups throughout last Monday afternoon to complete the project. While only 10 could work on the group, Donnenwerth said the amount of people who volunteered was staggering.

“We had to have fewer than 10 people, but 40 people wanted to come help and that was overwhelming,” she said. Davis added that the response reminded her why she is proud to represent the district and is another example of what makes it a unique place to work.

“I think one of the best things about this is how well the staff came together to pull this off, whether it was through purchasing supplies, giving of their time or both,” she said. “I feel blessed to be part of a staff where you can see how much they care for each other, the student body and the community.”

Donnenwerth said that although the sign is meant to instill a sense of hope and togetherness, the installation of the project was an emotional process. Not only have students been unable to see their friends and teachers, teachers, too, have gone weeks without seeing one another.

“The hardest part of this has been the kids and not being with them, but you start to miss your friends as well,” she said. “We wish we could have hugged each other and stood closer, but just seeing their faces was really uplifting.”