More than 500 thank-yous headed to Dyess from Wylie High School

In its first year, Wylie High School’s Family and Community Services class teamed up with art students to thank military neighbors for Veterans Day.

Gentry Morris

When Wylie High School senior Gentry Morris sat down to write a Veterans Day card, the first person who came to mind was Hunter.

Hunter is Morris’ stepbrother. He followed in Morris’ stepfather’s footsteps by joining the military. His visits home have made Morris more aware of how much time military families spend apart. So when it came time to write to someone at Dyess Air Force Base, Morris thought about what it means to serve people you’ve never met.

“I just wrote how I thank them for their service and the way that they protect us, even if they don’t know us,” Morris said.

That note is among more than 500 cards headed to Dyess for Veterans Day. The project began in Maddie Wood’s Family and Community Services class, a course Wylie High School offered for the first time this year. The collection includes handwritten letters and notes as well as cards hand-painted by art students.

From the classroom to the gate

Mrs. Wood

Wood wanted her students to do something for Veterans Day because she knows how different the holiday can feel when someone in your family serves. Her younger brother, Gus, graduated from Wylie High School in 2019 and now serves in the U.S. Army. The family hopes to see him at Christmas.

As students worked on their cards, Wood told them that even a simple thank-you could mean a lot. Then a student helped find a way to put those words directly into people’s hands. The student’s mother works at Dyess and helped connect the class with security forces. The plan is for personnel at the gate to hand out the cards as people enter the base.

A class built around serving others

Painted and illustrated cards show a helmet, American flags and aircraft.

Wood teaches communication skills in Family and Community Services and looks for ways students can put those skills to work. They’ve made decorations for the zoo and are taking on the high school’s Toys for Tots effort as the holidays approach.

Morris signed up because of an interest in criminal justice and psychology. The course turned out to be “a lot more hands-on than anticipated,” Morris said.

The person who gets Morris’ card at the gate may never meet the student who wrote it. Morris hopes the message stays with them anyway.

“I hope that they realize how thankful everyone is for their service,” Morris said.

Did you receive one of the cards at Dyess? Send us a photo at communications@wyliebulldogs.org.

Photos from the project

Two students work on a card at a table covered with markers. A student colors a card at a table with classmates. Students work on cards around a classroom table. A student in a white sweatshirt colors a Veterans Day card. A student colors a card beside markers and a laptop. A student draws on a card with colorful illustrations. Students work on cards with markers and finished designs spread across the table. Two students smile at a table where they have been making cards. Students color cards alongside finished designs. An open Veterans Day card has red lettering and a handwritten thank-you note.

Two Wylie High School students hold up their Veterans Day cards.

Two painted cards show a military helmet and aircraft leaving red, white and blue trails. Two handwritten thank-you notes for military service members sit on a table. A handwritten note thanks its recipient for serving the country. A handwritten thank-you appears beneath colorful stars and a medal. A woman stands holding a bundle of Veterans Day cards.