Sheridan middle school and high school students gather for prayer

SHERIDAN — Tongue River Middle School students circled around the American flag pole outside their school in Ranchester for a moment of prayer and the annual ‘See You At The Pole’ event Wednesday.

Sheridan High School participated in the event Wednesday and Tongue River High School will gather around the flagpole Thursday.

According to its website, ‘See You At The Pole’ is a global day of student prayer that began in 1990 as a grassroots movement with 10 students praying at their school. Decades later, millions pray on their campuses on the fourth Wednesday in September.

‘See You at the Pole’ is a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God. ‘See You at the Pole’ is a student-initiated, student-organized and student-led event.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Area Representative Cameron Groteluschen was in attendance at the middle school and led everyone in prayer.

“Giving students an opportunity to grow in their faith is a big thing for me. It's all volunteer based and none of it is required by students. It gives them the opportunity to say, ‘Yeah, I want to come participate in this and grow,’” Groteluschen said.

Groteluschen has been a part of FCA since attending high school in Buffalo and has worked for the organization for 10 years.

Tongue River High School students and FCA leaders talked about the importance of FCA and events like ‘See You At The Pole.’

“It's given me the chance to experience and understand more of where other kids are coming from, and understand that in a small school it's hard to put yourself out there,” TRHS Senior Drew Logan said.

Relaying God’s word in a way for other students to understand has been a challenge, TRHS Senior Savannah Tremain said.

“Understanding how I can present the Word and show Christ (has been a challenge). It's definitely taught me a lot of leadership skills and being able to communicate with people,” Tremain said.

Events like ‘See You At The Pole’ provide another opportunity for students to connect with other students. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, TRHS Junior Lucianna Raymond said.

“I definitely think it's another opportunity for us to step out. We're not going to reach everyone in this school, it's really hard, but it's definitely a way that we can show, ‘I believe in God and I'm willing to step out in my faith,’” Raymond said. “It's a way that we can pray over the needs of our community and our nation, but it's also a way that we can show everyone that we're willing to step out in faith.”

This story was published on Sept. 25, 2025.