RICHMOND, Va. -- Teachers and students gathered at Fox Elementary School Monday morning to continue a Valentine's Day tradition following a catastrophic fire days ago.
“Even if Fox is gone, the memories are still with all of us," fourth-grader, Lilly Gooss, read aloud.
Those memories are what she's reflecting on as she ties her Valentine's Day card to the metal fence that surrounds the burned elementary school building.
“I’ve been at this school since kindergarten, so it’s sad when I heard it was gone," said Gooss.
Friday night’s fire caused unprecented damage to the school, but the flames couldn’t stop this annual tradition.
"It’s like surreal that’s what survived, but that is what survived," explained Julie Crowder, who's been the art teacher at Fox Elementary for 17 years.
On Friday, she put hundreds of paper valentines that teachers hang at the school every year in her car. Now, they’re all she has left of her classroom.
"It’s really symbolic of the spirit continuing," Crowder said. "The spirit of community continues through our school."
While class was canceled Monday, dozens of students, teachers and parents came to tie love notes to the fence and mourn the 110-year-old building that’s helped shape their community.
"It’s amazing how emotional this feels," PTA President-elect at Fox, Amelia Boschen, tearfully explained. "You think it’s just a building, and of course, we’re so glad no one was hurt, but there’s a lot of emotion around this building."
Boschen also has three kids at the school and said parents are organizing play dates this week to help students feel connected.
"The first thing my kids wanted to know was like are their friends okay, and when are they going to see their friends and their teachers," she noted.
While these students and teachers don’t have a school building to return to right now, they are confident learning will continue — and they know the love for Fox Elementary extends far beyond Strawberry Street.
“I hope they will find a new place to do school, so we can all go back and have fun together," said Gooss.
This community is still grieving, and there are a lot of questions that remain about next steps. For now, teachers and parents are trying to focus on the messages on the paper cards and say they will get through this together.
