Used to celebrate graduations, New Horizons bell has rich history – Herald-Banner

For the last five years, its been a tradition at Greenville ISDs New Horizons High School to ring a large antique bell that sits prominently in its foyer whenever a student completes their requirements for graduation.

When the student being recognized dons their red graduation cap and gown and rings the bell, its a signal to the rest of the student body and staff to step outside the classroom and join in the celebration, which is sort of a mini personal graduation ceremony.

Once they ring that bell, theyre ready to go out and do the best they can and accelerate, said New Horizons Principal Mark Loya. It just gives them so much to look forward to and know theyre celebrated.

It means so much to them and so much to us, Loya said.

This school year so far, 14 seniors have had the bell rung in their honor, but the history of the 600-pound antique bell is something of a mystery with only bits of its past being known.

The bell was relocated from Greenville High School (where it was only occasionally used for decoration and never rung) to New Horizons in spring 2017 at the request of Greenville native and active resident Pud Kearns, who is the niece of the man who originally donated the bell to GISD in the 1940s.

My uncle, Jack Horton, was a scrounger from the time he was a child, Kearns said. There are unique characteristics that come with being a Horton hoarding wait, lets call it collecting odd things and turning them into interesting things.

We certainly have a quirkiness, a sense of creativity, Kearns added.

During one of his scrounging expeditions while he was still a high school student himself, Horton discovered four large, old bells at a scrap yard and bought two of them for 1 cent per pound.

He managed to get somebody to help haul them home, Kearns related. He brought them home and said to my grandmother, Im going back for the other two.' Then, my grandmother said, "Not on your life! Two, thats it. Were stopping at two.

Horton then donated the bell to Greenville High School. Over the intervening decades, the bell traveled around the high school campus, from the metal shop to a display case, then it was covered in tinsel to be used as a Christmas decoration, and then decorated in school colors for Homecoming, but it never rang.

Years later, while serving on the New Horizons Advisory Committee, Kearns thought of the bell when then-principal Chip Gregory recalled the movie, Its a Wonderful Life, and the well known line, Every time a bell rings, and angel gets his wings, and thought it would be a nice gesture to mark the graduations of NHHS students in a similar way.

After that meeting, Kearns worked at getting the bell moved from Greenville High School to New Horizons.

I called Heath JarvisGreenville High School principal at the timeand I said, This is Pud. I want my bell back. I want it to go to New Horizons, Kearns said.

The bell arrived at New Horizons that afternoon.

This is where it was supposed to be, Kearns said. When the first graduate rang the bell that spring, I was crying I was so proud.

This bell has waited 80 years to ring. Literally, it had never rung to speak of, and now it has a purpose.

In the years since its been a tradition for each New Horizons graduate to ring the ball, it has become a major part of the campus culture of community spirit and cooperation, as they seek to support students and families who choose the school for a variety of reasons.

For example, New Horizons smaller class sizes can be beneficial for high school-aged students who are new to Greenville ISD and who are just beginning to learn English.

Similarly, the smaller student-to-teacher ratio can work well for students in need of credit recovery, who have, for whatever reason, fallen behind in satisfying their graduation requirements and need to catch up.

The more self-paced aspect of New Horizons has also attracted a few students who wish to graduate early.

Whatever their reason for choosing New Horizons, completion is always a

I knew I was going to ring it one day, and it just made me feel really good, said Arriana Aportella, who was the 13th student to complete their graduation requirements this year. Now Im going to study to be a flight attendant and travel and see the world.

I want to see whats out there and meet new people, Aportella added. But, Ill never forget this, and I was surprised by how heavy the bell was and how loud it was in my ears. It was a big deal for me.

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Used to celebrate graduations, New Horizons bell has rich history - Herald-Banner