The lunchroom lights will be glinting off of several chains of beads Tuesday, February 25 until Thursday, February 27, as the French Honor Society (SHF) will be encouraging spirit for Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, by selling beads during all lunches.

“Each little bead is going to come with a French expression like ‘laissez le bon temps rouler’ which means let the good times roll,” French teacher Melody Mozley said. “Every kid who buys a bead can select something they want to say like ‘I love you’ or ‘you’re my best friend’ or ‘let the good times roll.’ They will select one, and we will patch it to the bead, and we will hand deliver them during sixth period, I believe, on Mardi Gras.”

With the lack of a budget, the French Honor Society is utilizing this holiday to raise funds for their club by selling the beads at one dollar a piece and letting the students be able to send the beads they buy to anyone in the school.

“Right now we don’t have a budget at all,” Mozley said. “So if we ever want to have a get-together or a party, it’s great to be able to draw from there to buy fun stuff just even to eat or share. My ultimate goal is to raise enough money to give a scholarship to an outgoing senior.”

The French Honor Society goes on French related field trips to learn more about the French culture, and they hope to raise cultural awareness in the school while simultaneously fundraising.

“We thought [the fundraiser] would be really fun because they have the tradition of throwing out Mardi Gras beads in a parade and to kind of bring that to Lovejoy in a more appropriate manner,” French Honor Society president Taylor Todd said.

Since the French Honor Society is new to the school, the fundraiser will be club’s first. However, many members of the French Honor Society are optimistic of its success.

“My hopes for it are that it does well and that we can sell all our beads,” Todd said.

Although the French Honor Society is new and small, there is potential for its future and it can also be beneficial to its members.

“Even if we only have one hundred or two hundred dollars, I think that would still be a nice scholarship to give somebody because it could at least pay for a book or two,” Mozley said. “At the other schools where we started French Honor Society, eventually we were able to give a five hundred dollar scholarship to an outgoing senior.”

Some students like the idea of celebrating the holiday with the colorful beads that are a well-known symbol of Mardi Gras.

“I’m from Louisiana, and I know about Mardi Gras, and I’ve celebrated it before,” senior Colton Alleman said. “I think it’s a good idea I guess to get people in the spirit for the holiday.”