Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
SENIORS WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
Graduating seniors in West Chester Area School District visit elementary schools
Elementary students looked up and to the future, while graduating seniors looked down and to the past.
Although there was a stark height and age difference, the students had much in common.
On Tuesday, Penn Wood Elementary School teachers, students and administrators all met in the middle as Rustin and East high school seniors visited their former grade school.
Dressed in caps and gowns, Rustin and East students took the “Senior Walk” through their former elementary school’s hallways, exchanging high fives with grade school students and hugs with many of the teachers.
Several elementary school students held homemade signs, including third-grader Olivia Lunardi.
“Congratulations and have a
tremendous summer,” read her sign.
Fourth-grade Penn Wood teacher Tim Wildermuth was all smiles.
“They’re all so different, so grown up,” he said. “When we last saw them here they were little kids, now they’re adults. We’re very proud that they’re on to bigger and better things.”
Katie Berkes now teaches second grade at Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School. She was a first-grade student teacher when the Class of 2017 attended. In her classroom, she displays a class picture of much younger versions of many of Tuesday’s visitors.
“I’m not going to recognize some of them,” she said with a smile, prior to the visit.
West Chester Area School District Superintendent Dr. James Scanlon hopped off the school bus with the grads at Penn Wood Elementary School.
He said the senior walk was a great way to generate school spirit, and celebrate seniors with a trip down memory lane, as they returned, perhaps for the last time, to their elementary schools.
“For others, it was simply a chance to share their great accomplishment, and hopefully some inspiration, with our youngest students,” Scanlon said. “Graduates are the final product that began at the age of five in our elementary schools. I saw many elementary teachers with tears of joy as they got to see the final product of their work. We are extremely proud of our graduates and the hard work they’ve put into earning their diploma.”
Senior Trevor Staples is set to earn a biology degree at Penn State University.
“It makes me think about how small I was at one point and how much energy I had,” he said.
Senior Sam Licwinko, had a tear in her eye when visiting her alma mater, Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School.
“It brought back so many little kid memories,” she said.
Penn Wood Principal Ellen Gacomis attends the Rustin graduation annually to see her students off. She was excited by the visit.
“I feel like a little kid,” she said. “We try to do all we can to assure success — just to know that they did well and we were a small part of it.”
Penn Wood fifth-grade teacher Gail Quigley collected six hugs from former students.
Quigley proudly said that several students thanked her and told her she made a big difference.
Kindergarten teacher Katie Gill wanted the younger students to see that hard work pays off.
Westtown-Thornbury Principal Nora Wheeler hopes the elementary students will stay passionate about learning.
“I hope they know it’s going to take work to get there,” she said about the young Wildcats.
Graduating seniors visited all the district’s elementary schools.
East Goshen, Exton, part of Fern Hill and Glen Acres elementary school students now attend East High School.
East Bradford, part of Fern Hill, Hillsdale and Mary C. Howse students graduate from Henderson High School. Rustin students funnel from Penn Wood, Starkweather and Westtown-Thornbury elementary schools.