Children’s House Montessori School sixth-graders Jordan Strength, left, and Roderick Cauthen, toss fallen Japanese magnolia petals into the air Thursday afternoon on the wooden deck behind the school. Jan Pettus, the school’s owner, said she believes the tree is the largest of its kind in Vicksburg. The blooms are one of the first signs that spring is just around the corner in the city.(C. Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)