Students at St. Mary say goodbye with parade
Caravans driving past schools have become a popular ritual during pandemic
There were cheers, tears and lots of honks as students from St. Mary Catholic school in southeast Edmonton said goodbye to their principal on the last day of school.
Dozens of vehicles draped in balloons, streamers, signs and photos of teachers’ faces paraded past the school with students hanging out of windows and sunroofs Friday as staff lined the sidewalk. On their last day, students were invited to say goodbye for the summer after the COVID -19 pandemic cut their time in the classroom short.
“It burst my heart because it was super exciting and I got to see some of my friends,” said Grade 4 student Isabella Bramm.
Troy Hawes, parade marshal and husband to the vice-principal, led the procession in his black pickup truck, spewing rubber balls across Rhatigan Road. The school normally has a big celebration but this year it wasn’t able to because students have been learning from home.
“They’re excited to do all this and see their teachers, they haven’t seen them in months,” said Hawes. “This gives them a chance to say goodbye to all their teachers and all their staff.”
Principal Marcel Evaristo will be heading to St. Charles School in north Edmonton after six years at St. Mary. Among the vehicles were a number of goodbye signs dedicated to him and he was gifted with a book of memories before the ceremony was over.
“I’m just honoured and humbled because I’m here to serve our community, to serve our kids and I’m just grateful for the gift that parents trust in our school community, that they trust and believe in what we do,” said Evaristo.
Assistant principal Lauren Hawes said it had been 102 days since students attended classes in person. She said that teachers had to pivot their school plans on one day’s notice and they stepped up to the challenge.
“They went from not knowing what to do, to scheduling team meetings and reading with kids and appointments and a program that was so innovative and so diverse, able to meet the needs of every learner in their classroom,” said Hawes. “And they did it without a second of hesitation.”
School drive-bys have become popular as the academic year ends. Two other Catholic schools, Grandin Catholic Elementary School and Father Leo Green Catholic Elementary School, held similar celebrations Friday.