Yard signs, especially ones with hearts on them, are a common sight as area residents want to show their support for essential workers. But one set of red heart signs celebrates graduating seniors at Ledyard High School as they work through a very strange end to their high school careers.

The signs were the idea of Principal Amanda Fagan, who saw a similar sign in another town.

“I like the simplicity of the smaller sign with the heart shape and thought it might be a great way to spread a little symbolic love to the seniors of Ledyard High School,” she said. “I wanted the signs to serve as encouragement to stick together, to remain positive, and to celebrate their accomplishments to this point, knowing that we hadn’t forgotten about them.”

She approached Tony Sabilia, a town councilor and the owner of FastSigns in Waterford, and in less than a day he gave her some design options and got the winning design into production. With some help from faculty and staff as well as her family, she delivered a sign to every graduating senior over the course of three days; including out-of-town seniors in the agri-science program, that meant deliveries in 11 towns in addition to Ledyard and Gales Ferry.

Fagan said she was a little worried that as the surprise got out on social media, some students whose signs didn’t come the first day would feel left out, but posts stayed positive as kids anticipated the arrival of their signs.

“There had been so much discussion online about everything the seniors were missing this spring, and this was one of the first positive actions that spoke to the heart of what the community was feeling and aimed directly at lifting up the Class of 2020 during this difficult time,” said Meredith Diette, whose son Simon is graduating. “Simon was excited to see the signs pop up on the Ledyard side of town as pictures leaked onto social media, and he was thrilled when we found one in our lawn.”

She said it would be a positive memory her son would carry through life, even as seniors miss out on milestones like prom and their final semester with their neighbors.

“I think the signs are an awesome way of showing us seniors that we’re still being celebrated because we don’t have in-person classes anymore,” Simon Diette said. “It’s nice to know that they care about us!”

Kindness in Real Life is a regular feature in The Times. To contribute, email times@theday.com.