Classes are back in session after the long holiday weekend, but it's not back to normal for students and teachers of Springdale's Har-Ber High School.
They're coming to terms with the tragic death of one of their classmates, 17-year-old Micayla Patterson.
Patterson was killed Friday night in a car accident in Tulsa. She, along with fellow student Daniela Salamo and Har-Ber graduate Colton Hill, had just left a John Mayer concert.
Har-Ber High has come up with several ways to honor Patterson, who was well-known throughout the school and a member of the school's basketball team.
"I have not found one soul in this building that didn't love Micayla, and I looked, I couldn't find them," said Principal Dr. Danny Brackett.
Brackett said the outpouring of support from students, teachers and the community has been something he's never seen before. More than one-thousand messages have been posted on Patterson's Facebook page.
Her death has brought the whole school to a somber focus. "You don't walk down the hallways and not see students, teachers, comforting each other; it's been really, really hard," said Anne-Ashley Black, student council president.
Even Grammy winner John Mayer left a message on his Twitter account regarding the teen's death. He writes: "I'm sitting in my dressing room in Houston, having just read this terrible news. My heart and thoughts go out to Micayla's family and her friends. This is just awful. Every night, over the course of two hours I come to care very deeply for every face in the crowd, and somewhere in that glance out over the audience for my final bow is the hope and the prayer that everyone gets home safely and carries out awesome, bright, beautiful lives. This won't soon leave my mind, and tonight's show is dedicated to Micayla's memory as well as wishing for a quick recovery for the two other passengers injured."
But those who know her best say it's the basketball court where Patterson's spirit may have been most evident. Her coach taught her dad in high school and watched her grow up.
"It's one of those things as a coach you hope you never have to go through," said girls' basketball coach Sandy Wright. "But our kids love Micayla, and it's going to be a major loss for our team in the locker room and on the floor."
In response to Patterson's death, the Bentonville girls' basketball team held their own memorial - where they shared stories about a rival competitor who they adored.
"Some of the Bentonville girls said 'yea, she guarded me and tripped me and then she turned and apologized to me, hit me in the head and apologized to me,'" Wright said.
Students have also made get well banners for the other two teenagers involved in the crash. Hill has been released from the hospital, while Salamo is recovering in from a concussion in St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.
A group of friends visited her over the weekend. "We spent about four hours with her and she was laughing and it was so great to see our friend back," Black said.
Har-Ber High School plans to honor Patterson throughout the year and during their basketball games. Her jersey will be laid on the first chair on team's bench during every game.
A funeral service for Patterson will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Fellowship Church in Lowell. The school says students are cleared miss class and attend the service, as long as they have a permission note from their parents.
They're coming to terms with the tragic death of one of their classmates, 17-year-old Micayla Patterson.
Patterson was killed Friday night in a car accident in Tulsa. She, along with fellow student Daniela Salamo and Har-Ber graduate Colton Hill, had just left a John Mayer concert.
Har-Ber High has come up with several ways to honor Patterson, who was well-known throughout the school and a member of the school's basketball team.
"I have not found one soul in this building that didn't love Micayla, and I looked, I couldn't find them," said Principal Dr. Danny Brackett.
Brackett said the outpouring of support from students, teachers and the community has been something he's never seen before. More than one-thousand messages have been posted on Patterson's Facebook page.
Her death has brought the whole school to a somber focus. "You don't walk down the hallways and not see students, teachers, comforting each other; it's been really, really hard," said Anne-Ashley Black, student council president.
Even Grammy winner John Mayer left a message on his Twitter account regarding the teen's death. He writes: "I'm sitting in my dressing room in Houston, having just read this terrible news. My heart and thoughts go out to Micayla's family and her friends. This is just awful. Every night, over the course of two hours I come to care very deeply for every face in the crowd, and somewhere in that glance out over the audience for my final bow is the hope and the prayer that everyone gets home safely and carries out awesome, bright, beautiful lives. This won't soon leave my mind, and tonight's show is dedicated to Micayla's memory as well as wishing for a quick recovery for the two other passengers injured."
But those who know her best say it's the basketball court where Patterson's spirit may have been most evident. Her coach taught her dad in high school and watched her grow up.
"It's one of those things as a coach you hope you never have to go through," said girls' basketball coach Sandy Wright. "But our kids love Micayla, and it's going to be a major loss for our team in the locker room and on the floor."
In response to Patterson's death, the Bentonville girls' basketball team held their own memorial - where they shared stories about a rival competitor who they adored.
"Some of the Bentonville girls said 'yea, she guarded me and tripped me and then she turned and apologized to me, hit me in the head and apologized to me,'" Wright said.
Students have also made get well banners for the other two teenagers involved in the crash. Hill has been released from the hospital, while Salamo is recovering in from a concussion in St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.
A group of friends visited her over the weekend. "We spent about four hours with her and she was laughing and it was so great to see our friend back," Black said.
Har-Ber High School plans to honor Patterson throughout the year and during their basketball games. Her jersey will be laid on the first chair on team's bench during every game.
A funeral service for Patterson will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Fellowship Church in Lowell. The school says students are cleared miss class and attend the service, as long as they have a permission note from their parents.