No more pencils, no more books
Charles County schools out for the summer
After months of anticipation last Friday, William A. Diggs Elementary students were ready and one by one they took their final walk through the school corridors with smiles affixed on their faces.
Some waved goodbye to their friends, while others cried and hugged their teachers as they participated in the annual “Clap Out” ritual.
“Today is really exciting for me. I’m excited to get to the next grade but I’m a little nervous as well. But I know it’s going to be a hard but I do believe I have what it takes to make it,” said student Tegan Boyd.
Smiles were on everyone’s faces from the
youngest student to Principal Debra L. Calvert whose love and passion for her job as the newly appointed principal has trickled down to students and staff.
Calvert implored students to see this change as something positive where they will grow and meet new people. She reminded the students that the bonds formed at the school will never be broken. According to Calvert, most students will either go to Theodore G. Davis or Matthew Henson middle schools, which are feeder schools from Diggs Elementary.
Calvert said inclusion is important at Diggs and no student is left out of any activity.
“Our school is an inclusion school ... and these children are included in the classroom when we have these programs. We include everybody,” Calvert said.
On the last day of school, students boarded buses by order of grade. As the buses exited the school’s parking lot, faculty members, including the school’s mascot the Hawk, waived goodbye to the students. For those who didn’t travel by bus, the school instituted a car rider line where students await their designated drivers to pick them up.
“It’s wonderful to see students getting older and to see them go on to the next grade level, but it also pulls at your heart strings. We build strong relationship bonds and we’re going to miss them immensely,” Cindy Wilson, an instructional assistant, said.