Submitted Photo November Reinoehl’s kindergarten class do fingersnaps with the Surrey volleyball team in the gymnasium before their home game on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Photo courtesy of Tarra Hysjulien.

When the Surrey High School volleyball players walked out onto the court for their home game against the Glenburn Panthers Tuesday, Oct. 7, they weren’t met with their usual cheers and applause. Instead, they were met with snaps.

On Sep. 28, a car-truck collision outside of Watford City claimed the life of 5-year-old November Reinoehl.

November began kindergarten earlier this year at Surrey Public School, where her mom Angie Reinoehl worked. November thrived at school and adored the people she met there.

When Surrey volleyball head coach Michaela Martin and the other coaching staff heard the news of November’s untimely passing, they knew they wanted to do something to show support.

“We were like, we should do something just to honor (November), especially since she is from this school. Being a small community, it affects everybody,” Coach Martin said. “From there, we started to brainstorm ideas between the coaches and different administrators around the school.”

After some time deliberating, the staff decided that the volleyball team would take an active part in honoring November’s memory through the day and at the team’s next home match.

“(The team) was really responsive to it,” Coach Martin said. “The elementary school principal (Tarra Hysjulien) got most of it planned with November’s mom.”

To honor November, the school made T-shirts that all the volleyball players and November’s kindergarten class wore with “Remember November” plastered across the front, surrounded with images of rainbows, crayons and rhino unicorns. Before the game on Tuesday, the volleyball team had a chance to meet with November’s kindergarten class and honor her memory with each other.

“We passed (the shirts) out to the kindergarteners, and then we got to take a picture out on the playground with the whole volleyball team, and the kids just really enjoyed that,” said Sarah Thom, November’s kindergarten teacher. “We talked about November and just remembering her, and they all loved getting their shirts and thinking about November.”

The kids got to bring their shirts home, and that night returned to the gym wearing them for the volleyball game.

The school spent the week before the game selling the ‘Remember November’ shirts for the public to wear to the game and show their support. The school dedicated the game to honoring November and did so by honoring the things she loved.

“Coming to the game (on Tuesday), we got to do the Pledge of Allegiance because November loved learning the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Thom.

Along with the pledge, Thom said November absolutely loved learning to snap her fingers to “The Days of the Week,” and in honor of the love, the whole crowd for the volleyball game snapped their fingers in celebration during the introduction of the players.

“This community is so close-knit and so supportive of everybody that it was really the least we could do just to bring remembrance for November,” said Coach Martin. “What we are doing is bigger than the game. It’s not about wins and losses that we walk away with. It’s how we treat each other, how we treat everyone around us.”

A memorial and vigil was held for November at St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church in Minot on Friday, Oct. 10.