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Students at Berry Middle School wore blue and created puzzle pieces for a special wall display on Friday, April 8 for Autism Awareness Month. (Contributed/Hoover City Schools)

By EMILY SPARACINO | Staff Writer

HOOVER – Berry Middle School students are celebrating the individual characteristics that make each of them unique.

On Friday, April 8, BMS students and staff wore blue and donned bracelets provided by the Autism Society of Alabama for Autism Awareness Month.

The day, called “Light It Up Blue Day,” also involved the students creating puzzle pieces to reflect their personalities and interests.

“Our students actually completed their own puzzle pieces, and each puzzle piece is unique to each individual student,” Instructional Support Teacher Tory Hixon said in a video HCS shared. “We wanted to celebrate all of our differences and how they all can go together.”

On April 8, students placed all of the puzzle pieces on a large banner to hang on the wall in the school’s main hallway.

“I love how all of us came together and did a puzzle piece, and everybody’s helping to put the puzzle pieces together,” eighth grader Emily Castaneda Garcia said. “I just think that’s a unique way to get to know people here at school. Everybody’s unique in their own way, and everybody has a way to shine here at Berry.”

Castaneda Garcia said her puzzle piece included things that represent her, such as family and faith.

“It’s amazing to learn different things about each and every student in our building, and it’s been amazing to see all their different artwork,” Hixon said. “They really got into this activity, and they have many things that they each enjoy. We’re able to see the differences in the students as well as celebrate their differences.”

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