At the end of every school year (with the exception of 2020), graduates are offered the opportunity to participate in a grad walk. So what’s happening this year?
Getting on a bus at 8am, wearing a cap and gown, receiving cheering from elementary students, and giving your old teachers a high five. What do all of these events have in common? They will occur this Thursday at the grad walk, which graduating seniors will have the opportunity to participate in.
“This is like the beginning of the end for our seniors,” said Laura Lloyd-Smith, spearheader of the event. Dr. Lloyd-Smith got the idea for the grad walk five years ago, when she saw high school seniors walking through their elementary schools in caps and gowns on Facebook. She was immediately inspired, and wanted to bring the tradition to Central High School. This idea quickly caught on, and all three high schools participate.
“This year we are hoping to fill three buses,” she said.
Each bus takes students to three elementary schools. There, they are greeted by a hallway full of excited kids and teachers; sometimes students even get to see the teachers they once had. To help enhance this experience for the seniors, Laura tells us that if a student asks to be on a bus that goes to their elementary school, she will try her best to get them on that particular bus.
This year, the elementary schools include Valley View, Rapid Valley, Wilson, Horace Mann, General Beadle, Grandview, South Park, and more. Students who participate will be excused from their first block on Thursday, May 20th.
The Pine Needle 