On February 13, 2026, Fossil students and staff exchanged their usual green and black ‘Fossil Friday’ attire for purple. This year marks Fossil’s first year of participation in P.S. I Love You Day. 

Students in Fossil’s leadership program originally proposed the idea after hearing about it at a Poudre School District Student Advisory Council meeting. The leadership program decided to follow through with it in hopes to raise positivity and support within the Fossil community.

“Awareness is so important. [You] don’t know what people are going through, so it’s good to remind [people] that everyone has their own struggles…” said leadership student Avery Long.

P.S. I Love You Day ultimately started after the founder of the organization, Brooke DiPalma, lost her father, Joseph DiPalma, to suicide in 2010. The year following his death, DiPalma decided to create a day to celebrate her father’s life, as well as his last words to her. The organization asks participants to wear purple in order to raise awareness for bullying, depression, and suicide to remind those across the country that “[they] are never alone.”(P.S. I Love You Day, Inc)

What started as a local celebration in West Islip, New York, soon grew to a participation list of over 300 schools and organizations throughout the US, with this year marking its 16th annual celebration.

At Fossil, this year’s theme, ‘Be the light,’ was reflected with posters and messages such as ‘You are loved’ and ‘There are bright days ahead’ written on purple hearts posted by leadership students throughout the hallways.

The Fossil leadership program plans to continue to participate in this event in following years, with the hopes of growing and uplifting the school community.

“[I hope that] the topic of mental health is less of a scary topic and that it can be more open,” said leadership student Olivia Taylor.