Students honor injured classmate with cranes, dress-up

Woodland — While at home in April, Woodland Intermediate School third-grader Harley Gatica complained about a headache and suddenly passed out. His parents called 911 and an ambulance rushed Harley to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with bleeding in his brain requiring life-threatening surgery. Harley has since recovered from his injury and plans to return to school this fall. During the year, Harley’s classmates showed their support for him by raising money for his family and making 1,000 origami cranes by hand. Megan Lascik, his third-grade teacher, was inspired by the play, “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” which follows a 2-year-old girl with leukemia who was inspired by a Japanese legend that says if someone creates 1,000 origami cranes, they would be granted a wish. At a recent school assembly, students wore shorts and hoodies, Harley’s favorite attire.