WHS senior gives back to the youngest Texans

The Gold Award is the highest possible achievement with the Girl Scouts of America, and it is now part of the growing tally of accomplishments for Wimberley High School senior Makenzie Haston. Gold Award recipients must provide a lasting solution to an issue in their community, so when it came time for Makenzie to choose a project to pursue for her Gold Award, she thought of the younger Texans that share her school district and her community.

“I had been on Instagram and happened to scroll to a video that portrayed a little girl using a vinyl sticker pathway that had been installed at her school,” explained Makenzie. “I learned what the purpose of the pathway was and thought the idea of a sensory pathway would be a neat thing to create as my Gold Award.” The benefits of sensory pathways are more pronounced in younger students, giving them a chance to spend time walking, jumping, bouncing, and counting their way through the maze of decals on the walls and floors. Ideally, the students are then ready to return to focused learning.

Blue Hole Primary School was in its early stages of construction when Makenzie received enthusiastic permission from Principal Dara Richardson and WISD Superintendent Dwain York to proceed with her plan to install a decal sensory pathway. Using an app to create the decals, Makenzie printed them and painstakingly installed them each by hand this past summer. A total of 80 hours of commitment to the project is required to achieve the Gold Award, and Makenzie one-upped that with 81 documented hours of work.

The vinyl stickers are installed along the floors and hallways at Blue Hole Primary. The decals are handprints, footprints, arrows, shapes, and many more. Some are decorated with numbers and letters. Makenzie said teachers have told her the pathway has been a valuable resource. “I was told by one teacher that the pathway has helped students reset and come back to class with a more positive attitude,” Makenzie shares. “Another teacher has mentioned that students ask to go through the entire hallway before returning to the classroom. Additionally, one of the teachers has said she uses the ABC flowers for her deaf education student to do ABC-recall where they go and stand on the letter she signs.”

It’s a truly impactful project that touches the lives of many of Wimberley ISD’s youngest students and will continue to have a multiplying effect at Blue Hole Primary’s campus and beyond. It’s no surprise the project led to Makenzie receiving the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award.

Makenzie, who competes with the Lady Texans in basketball, soccer and cross country, will attend Texas A&M University where she plans to join the Corps of Cadets and major in International Studies.