McGregor High School floral design class creates homecoming mums for students

MCGREGOR, Texas (KWTX) - As many Central Texas schools are approaching Homecoming season, McGregor High School floral design classes are working hard to make more mums than ever for students in the district.

“They will sell as many as the community needs,” Floral Design Teacher and McGregor ISD FFA advisor, Chelsea Fewell, said. “We try to provide a high quality, affordable product for our community members, and we send home the order forms with students in the primary, elementary, junior high, and high school.”

Students in the class are busy with the finishing touches of gluing, stapling, designing, trimming and heat pressing to make sure all mums and garters are ready to be delivered for students to wear during Homecoming week.

“Right now, we’re in the prime time of it because all of our mums are going out, so it’s kind of hectic in there, but we’re getting everything thing done slowly but surely,” student Jolie Rebando said.

Rebando enjoys the hands-on project and hopes mum-making and other projects will help her in her future career.

“I want to be an educator in probably agriculture, so this will help me be able to, if I want to teach advanced floral one day, I can have the hands on background knowledge to be able to do it,” she said.

This is her second year taking a floral design class and the third year students have been conducting Homecoming mum sales for the district as a fundraiser for the floral design class.

“This is our main fundraiser for the year, and theoretically, we sell enough to provide flowers for the rest of the class for the whole year without them having to pay a lab fee,” she said. “Every time we buy fresh flowers or just different materials and supplies, everything costs and it adds up. To make sure that everybody can have access to that at a no cost option is wonderful.”

Students can choose which size and kind of mum they want, like the ‘mini,’ ‘peewee’ garter, garter or ‘traditional’ mum, which range from $15 to $40 and include personalization options as well as customization.

This year is different for the class because not only are they set to reach new records with mum sales, but the district added an advanced floral design class to meet the demand of interest in excelling in the course.

“I think it’s something fun to do,” she said A lot of people like the hands-on activities you do in the shop, but there’s no air conditioning in the shop,” Fewell said. “So...you don’t get quite as dirty, but...flowers are everywhere. You can see them. It’s all year long. You’re going to need it for birthday’s, holiday’s, I think it’s just that you can see it everywhere. It’s practical.”

For those in the course who are interested in pursuing careers as florist, this course helps them as well. Fewell said students are able to get an industry-recognized certification at the end of the design course so they have the opportunity to work as a florist locally or for commercial businesses.

One day, Fewell hopes it will gain enough interest that there will be a two-hour floral design practicum class. Students in the class would be working off-campus with professional florists.

For now though, students are excited to finish the mums and deliver the orders to the students.

“We do our mum pickup where we get to see all the little kids come in and pick up their mums,” Rebando said. “The best part is seeing their smiles on how excited they are to get something that’s personalized to their name or even their monogram and what they like to do. Their faces always light up when they get to wear it on Friday night, and it gets to shine in the lights.”

After the mum project, it’s back to the books with learning and hands-on project that, with the fundraiser, they will be able to provide free to students.

McGregor High School football will kick off their Homecoming game Friday at 7:30 against Clifton.

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