SPENCER –  Carla Marlin Smith had a long drive to come home and visit North Rowan High School on Wednesday.

The parent engagement specialist for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools attended North Rowan Elementary, North Middle and North High, where she graduated. She had a stint as an assistant principal at the middle school as well. She decided to take the day to come back and show her support on Community Day.

The daylong event, happening in the background during a regular day of school, was a way for community members to see some of the work being done at North High. Students started the day greeted by dancers and cheerleaders.

Smith started her visit by taking a look at a ninth grade design and entrepreneurship class. The courses are required for freshmen and sophomores at North, and they take students through exploring their interests in the real world.

Smith said she was pleased to see this kind of work happening at North and had a number of questions for design teacher Alexis Greer about what the students were working on.

Junior Sangai Bombo said she designed a mask and created a prototype studio in her 10th grade design class. A big focus because of the times was COVID-19 prevention.

“It made me want to think outside of the box,” Bombo said, adding what she did in the design class was not something she would have done otherwise.

Bombo said she was able to explore what she was interested in and discover some of the things she did not want to pursue as the class progressed. She wants to be entrepreneur or a couples counselor.

Parent liaison Christal McRae said the day is an opportunity for community members to come to the school and engage with the people there.

“It’s an opportunity for them to see the good things going on at North Rowan High School and also the opportunities,” McRae said.

McRae said the school has a number of volunteers, but it always needs more. The school needs tutors for its after school program and other volunteers to provide mentorship for students.

The school has volunteers who help with Man Up Monday and Woman Up Wednesday, but McRae said the school is looking for more and people from different backgrounds.

“Money is great, but the volunteers and time spent with the students is more valuable than anything,” McRae said.

More was happening than community visits. The gym had a mobile roller skating rink for the day. Students in physical education courses could skate and teachers could bring their classes to skate as well.

In the backdrop of the gym were a number of organizations: Man Up Monday, Giver of Destiny, Rollin’ Clt, Healthier Together and 1, 2, 3 Jump. The organizations provided information and services for the kids. The nonprofit 1, 2, 3 Jump, for example, gave jump ropes and goodies to kids. Healthier Together was the primary organizer for this part of the event. There were also COVID-19 vaccines for students and staff who were interested.