It's graduation season and for many seniors it's time to give something back to the place where they have spent four years of their life. That might mean donating a painting, a bench or even a flagpole as a class gift, but there are some graduating seniors who have reached beyond those standards.

It might be an inspirational sculpture, or a showcase for a treasured artifact of the school's history, or a garden commemorating a favorite teacher.

At Bishop Canevin High School in Oakwood, principal Kenneth Sinagra found it odd that there was no tradition of senior classes donating something to the schools. Before he came to the school, he had been vice principal at Central Catholic High School, which has a long tradition of the practice.

So, last year, he urged the class of 2007 to think about giving a class gift. He suggested a sculpture for the center island in front of the school, which was being renovated at the time. The students agreed.

Mr. Sinagra offered his assistance to find something appropriate and showed the students statues of the Holy Family and even found one of Jesus walking with teenagers, but, "They did not want anything traditional. They said, 'If we're going to do this we want something unique.'"

That became a challenge, he said. But at a Downtown budget meeting he was talking about the project with Catholic Diocese school Superintendent Robert Paserba, who remembered a catalog he had of works by Canadian sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz, who had done creative projects for local parishes.

Mr. Sinagra took the catalog around to his colleagues at the school and there was one sculpture that stood out in their minds. Without telling the students which one they liked, Mr. Sinagra turned over the catalog and asked them to select their favorites. They came back with "Triumph" as one of their selections, the same statue the principal and his staff loved.

The sculpture is nearly 9 ¹/₂ feet tall, cast in Italy, then sent to the sculptor's studio in Canada to be bronzed. "It's the symbol of the hands of God the Father, Jesus the resurrection and the doves represent the Holy Spirit," Mr. Sinagra said.

He believes the title of the work probably had a lot to do with the students' choice. "Triumph could have a lot of different connotations for them. The significance of the title says a lot to kids especially with the faith this school is founded on."

Students started a donation campaign and raised nearly $5,000 to purchase the work of art.

The sculpture was dedicated this month when Catholic Bishop David Zubik made his first official visit to the school for a Mass and dedication ceremony.

Mr. Sinagra remembers what he thought the first day he saw the powerful sculpture in place: "Just amazing, it's unique." And he heard from others who found "Triumph" just as moving. "Some parents said it gave them chills."

The class of 2007 started something at Bishop Canevin with the help of their principal and Mr. Sinagra believes they should be proud of what they've done. "It's a nice tradition to start I think."

Tom Olszewski has spent the past 36 years teaching social studies at Canon-McMillan High School in North Strabane, Washington County. He has a passion for history that he passes on daily to juniors at the school.

This high school has a long history of senior class gifts that can be seen at every turn in the building. Whether it's a mural, trophy case or intricate terrazzo inlay in the floor, it's a tradition that Mr. Olszewski embraces. "You don't know where you're going unless you know where you came from," he says in a gravely voice. "It helps identify what [the students] are all about and what Can-Mac is all about, and I think it helps them down the road."

But one of the most interesting gifts goes back to 1957 when the district was formed by combining Canonsburg High School and Cecil High School. Groundbreaking for a new high school began that year. As the land was graded and prepared for construction most of the trees were taken down, but one large elm tree was left. It became a symbol of unity as the schools combined.

The school was (and still is) on Elm Street Extension and the first yearbook was named the Elmanac. It pictured some students from the first graduating class (1960) under the mighty elm.

This is where the story gets a little fuzzy, but the tree was cut down without approval from the school board on orders from the principal after a branch broke off and hit the cafeteria. His story was that the tree was succumbing to Dutch elm disease and posed a threat to safety. Then school board President Dr. Robert Sulkowski strongly disagreed and declared the tree was healthy.

For more than 40 years he kept a huge piece of one of the branches at his home. It looks more like a stump than a branch.

In 2006 the senior class had a case built out of elm wood to house the last remnant of the tree that is displayed inside the school near the office. Even a placard inside is made of elm wood.

A year earlier, Mr.Olszewski had been talking about the importance of the history of this tree to his class when Tiffany Holmes and other students decided it was time to do something about it.

They purchased a new disease resistant elm, planted it and dedicated it with a stone marker to honor all the alumni who served in foreign conflicts from 1960 to the present. Since then more elms have been added to the landscape.

One day Mr. Olszewski noticed someone out by the tree. He was kneeling and had his hand on the stone. The teacher introduced himself and learned the visitor was a Vietnam veteran who had graduated from the school. He listened as the man told him about the friends he'd lost.

Mr. Olszewski believe these types of projects are important for the students. "It gives you some school pride, personal pride and community pride."

Another project involved the unnamed bridge spanning Interstate 79 that leads to the school.

Students started a petition and with the help of state Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, an alumnus, and state Sen. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, were able to get the bridge named the Canon-McMillan Alumni Bridge. Now the state Department of Transportation is going to refurbish the bridge and paint it blue and gold, the school's colors.

"Metaphorically speaking, this is the last place where we have to shape and mold and groom students before transitioning into the community," said Assistant Principal Marella Kazos, a 1991 Canon-McMillan graduate. "We always said we help bridge our kids to life. And we literally have a bridge right outside of our front doors," she said with a laugh.

Mr. Olszewski's students are working to convince PennDOT to post better and larger name signs on the bridge. He sees it as a learning experience.

"I think they see the right way of doing things and the process of doing things. It shows them there's a chain of command and there's a process to get things done formally in the structure of government," he said. "What I imagine is in 20, 30 years, one of these kids driving up I-79 and seeing this sign and saying, 'This is where I come from.'"

Myra Amodie tries unsuccessfully to stop the tears as she remembers the day her senior students showed her the farewell gift they commissioned as she approached retirement. It was a beautiful carved stone that would be placed just outside the entrance of Mt. Lebanon High School where she taught a variety of science classes until 2003. It reads, "Myra's Garden, plant a seed or plant a good thought."

Sitting in the old school lobby surrounded by marble walls, she looks out towards the garden that bears her name. She remembers that day as if it was yesterday. "You kids can't do this," she recalls saying at the time. "This is crazy. It's not about me, please, it's about the school."

She was devoted to her work and the students from her advance placement environmental science class wanted future classes to know about her. "It was so sweet," she says.

The carved stone also says, "In honor of Mrs. Myra Amodie, teacher, mentor and friend. Mt. Lebanon High School June 2003."

The garden is neatly mulched and filled with leafy green hostas, Black-eyed Susans will emerge later under the canopy of trees.

Mrs. Amodie and her students planted trees and bulbs inside and outside the high school. They mulched and composted, learning how these techniques could help the environment. Inside at the center court of the school, she laughs recalling the planting of four large ficus trees in planters under a giant skylight.

As she walks towards a window outside her old classroom she catches glimpse of something that has remained unchanged. "That's my old bird feeder, she says. And she reminisces a bit about all the years she taught in that room. "I could see the green and the weather changing."

She began teaching in 1963 then left in '71 to raise her two daughters before returning in 1986. There's no doubt she missed the kids.

"I loved doing what I was doing, I could step right back in and teach," she says as she walks the familiar halls of the school. A mural outside her classroom is still there, painted eight years ago by her students.

When asked why the students would honor her in such a way, she immediately answered, "I don't know." Then she paused and said, "I was passionate, I believed very sincerely about what I was teaching and they knew it. What I was doing was what I wanted them to do, how I needed them to live for this planet to survive."

And when students walk by that carved stone bearing her name she wants them to remember two important things.

"I hope they think about the environment and being good to other people."