IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HEARTBROKEN—Milo and Katia Todesco stand together beside a crape myrtle tree planted last Friday at Crestview Elementary School in honor of their daughter Katya, 5, who died as a result of a dog attack in October. Katya's friends and classmates from Crestview helped plant the tree during an emotional ceremony. On what would have been her 6th birthday, Katya Todesco's classmates sat circled around a tree, holding hands, remembering her short life.

Katya, a first-grader at Simi Valley's Crestview Elementary School, died Sept. 26 after being attacked by a neighbor's dog.

Katya's classmates planted a tree in her memory outside their classroom last Friday, after 6year-old Katie Allen asked her teacher, Karen Hart, about memorializing her best friend.

"We all really loved her a lot," said Hart, who was also Katya's kindergarten teacher. "She added so much to our class. As the tree grows stronger, I hope we get stronger."

Three of Katya's close friends—Steven Giles, Cassidy Schwab and Katie—helped plant the tree. Cassidy and Katie bypassed the shovel, getting on their hands and knees and packing the dirt with their hands.

Katya Todesco Hart said her class would be responsible for watering the tree—a crape myrtle—and ensuring that its pink flowers bloom every spring.

After the tree was planted, the children tied pink and white ribbons to the tree's tiny trunk.

A group of balloons, including a metallic pink, heart-shaped one, was released into the sky. Katya's classmates had written birthday wishes on the heartshaped balloon, and they watched as Katie cut the string and it blew away quickly in the strong winds.

Katya's parents, Katia and Milo Todesco, as well as her aunt, Mercedes Todesco, attended the ceremony. Katie's parents were also at the service, as well as about 20 other friends and family members.

Mercedes Todesco hugged each one of Katya's classmates and thanked them for being good friends to her niece.

While music played, Katya's classmates clutched a photograph of her. One boy hugged it to his chest, while another touched it to his cheek and smiled.

In the background played a song by Greg Scelsa, chosen because of its message. Scelsa's music is often played in Hart's classroom.

The song, "New Beginning," includes the lyrics: "Every day is a brand-new beginning, like a seed when it's planted in the ground. Every day we can grow, there's so much we can know, that's the promise of each brand-new day."