Forever a Legacy, Forever a Panther: Sarah’s Story

By Southwest Parke Schools

Sixty-five members of the Riverton Parke family authored this book—students, parents, colleagues, and friends who were impacted by the incredible life Sarah led. Our hope is to leave a collection of stories and sentiments that will help Sarah’s family know the impact her life made in the world.

Sarah Norton may not be with us, but the memory and the positive impact she had on us will last forever. The staff at Riverton Parke Jr. and Sr. High School decided to try to capture the amazing stories, personal thoughts, and inspirational insights in the form of a book that can be cherished for many years to come.

All of the personal submissions to this book took place voluntarily. Many people wanted to share—a testament to the overwhelming love we have for Sarah Norton. We hope this book provides some inspiration to others, and we hope that our efforts motivate people to be better human beings. Lastly, we hope this book becomes a valued keepsake to the entire Norton family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Oct 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483439303

Book preview

Forever A

LEGACY,

Forever A

PANTHER

SARAH’S STORY

Copyright © 2015 Southwest Parke Community School Corporation.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1483-3931-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3930-3 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 10/1/2015

Forever A

LEGACY,

Forever A

PANTHER

SARAH’S STORY

SOUTHWEST PARKE SCHOOLS

Contents

A Role Model for a Lifetime

Sarah’s Impact on Riverton Parke Jr./Sr. High School

‘Everything she did in her time here, she did with love’

norton2013.jpg

Sarah Norton is an incredible and beautiful woman. She has inspired me through the years, and she has made me a better person. I will certainly miss her.

Stormey

Student

As a new teacher, Sarah was such an inspiration to me. I could always go to her for questions about students, and I was amazed at how well she seemed to know all of them. She inspired the entire National Honor Society to restart the club SADD at Riverton Parke, and showed amazing support by having all of her freshmen health classes participate in our poster contest. Not only was she a mentor, but a friend to share a laugh with. From a smile at a Pulse dance class where we had to shake our booties, to laughing at the kids rushing to my hand sanitizer after a health class about sexually transmitted diseases, I will miss her bright smile.

Lyndsey Schriver

Friend/Colleague

Sarah was indeed a Shining Star at Southwest Parke Schools. She was working her way toward a fabulous career as an administrator. Her compassion yet firmness was a quality that I always appreciated with Sarah. She was always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done and get it right the first time. Her enthusiasm was contagious, that great big smile was ever present and she could light up a room with it! She always wanted to tell me stories about Dane or the boys and that pink tractor. In fact, the last conversation I had with Sarah she was showing me a picture of her pink tractor and how fond she was of it. I believe she always wanted to be an administrator and she got a taste of it. I could tell she was where she wanted to be and deserved to be, she had that gift that is needed to be an administrator! She will be missed by the Southwest Parke Community, but we all appreciate the time we had to share with her.

Dr. Leonard R. Orr

Friend

Sarah made a lasting impact on the Marion Family. Since both Matt and Megan commuted from the West Terre Haute area, Sarah was kind enough to work out allowing the kids to ride to school with her. This was such a blessing. She could never imagine how much that contribution helped our family, as well as the opportunities they have had because she helped us get them to and from school.

It was more than just a ride to and from school for Matt and Megan, though. They really got to know her well. She would talk about Gabe and Gavin and how much she wanted them to be involved in 4-H and show cattle like she did. She was always asking the kids about what they had been up to, how they were doing in Livestock Judging, what livestock shows they were going to and the list goes on. They talked about her all of the time.

She was Megan’s volleyball coach when she transferred into Riverton Parke in seventh grade. She instilled confidence in Megan’s abilities both on and off the court with tons of encouragement. When Megan was in the eighth grade, Sarah came to the RP FFA Banquet where Megan gave the FFA Creed to the entire audience. Sarah went on and on about how far Megan had come and that she couldn’t believe how she had come out of her shell from the quiet girl that she had been, to the confident young woman she was becoming. Sarah had a lot to do with helping that quiet girl turn into the young woman she is today. In fact, Sarah always told Megan that she, Megan, was going to be her next Vigo County Fair Queen project when Megan was old enough to run. She won’t be here when that time comes, but Megan will definitely be running when she turns 18 (2016) and she will do so in Sarah’s memory!

Sarah was more than a teacher to our family. She was a friend and mentor. Now, Matthew, Megan and Michaela, intend to Pay it Forward in any way they can for by doing the same for Gabe and Gavin.

Tammy Marion for The Marion Family

Tim - Tammy - Matthew - Megan and Michaela

Even though I didn’t know Mrs. Norton