“Everyone deserves a moment in time on Cloud Nine.”
For senior Kelsey Sweet, that slogan isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s a mission to ensure no one feels invisible in a school environment where stress, assignments and social pressures can feel isolating. Sweet created the Cloud Nine Project to offer “small but meaningful moments of encouragement” to those who need it the most.
Through the Cloud Nine Project, students and staff can write notes to others in the school. The messages are collected outside House 4 and distributed by Sweet, offering unexpected reminders of appreciation.
“The Cloud Nine Project is basically all crafted around lifting people up and inspiring others,” Sweet said. “You might see your friend or a staff member or a peer that’s just been really striving and excelling in some area and you just want to let them know that you see the hard work they’re doing and that it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
The Cloud Nine Project started with nothing but a small idea, and now it has formed into an independent Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) where Sweet can earn credits through her hands-on experience with this project.
According to House 4 Assistant Principal Katie Sullivan, the adviser of the project, Kelsey has to “build it, produce it and showcase it” in order to fulfill ELO requirements.
“The thing about Kelsey is she has enough credits to graduate,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes [students] are coming up with ELOs, and they don’t even need the credit for it. They’re doing it because they want the experience of it and just the joy of doing something and leaving something at Londonderry High School, and that’s what matters even more.”
Sullivan works closely with Sweet and other students who take on independent ELOs. She has the opportunity to get to know them and see the “real character behind the student.”
“That’s what I love the most about overseeing the ELOs, because you see the passion and the drive,” Sullivan said. “Kelsey’s actually building upon [the project] week by week; she’s not just settling, [and] that kind of reflects who Kelsey is as a person.”
The Cloud Nine Project is still in the beginning phases, but Sweet is currently finding ways to raise funds and expand the initiative so they can offer additional support to students in need. One idea they have for the future is giving gift cards to students who are having a rough time.
“Even if we [give a student] a 10 dollar gift card,” Sullivan said, “it’s still something to make sure we are acknowledging that we hear you, we see you, we know you’re going through it and there’s somebody out there that cares.”
Sweet “hopes” that the Cloud Nine Project will remain at the school when she goes off to college, and that somebody will “continue to make a difference here” by keeping the project going. For now, however, she is focused on brightening people’s days.
“Sometimes you just have days that might not be the best, where you feel like they could be better,” Sweet said, “but, there’s no such thing as a bad day. There might be bad moments, but every day has good in it, so every day is a good one. People deserve to feel moments of greatness every day, especially at times when they need it the most.”
