AHS Seniors visit Helman Elementary, reflect on memories as they get set to graduate Thursday in Lithia Park
By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news
Fourth-graders from Trish Dorr’s class lined up enthusiastically near the buses outside Helman Elementary School Wednesday morning to welcome Ashland High School seniors back to their old stomping grounds for the annual Parade of Scholars.
The annual event, held every year for the past decade at each of the elementary schools before seniors head to graduation rehearsal at the Lithia Park Bandshell, is a way for high school students to have a brief look back just before they move forward after graduation. Seniors, clad in Grizzly red and white caps and gowns, met younger students in line with smiles and high fives as they followed Helman Principal Michelle Cuddeback through the campus.
Seniors were also bused to Bellview and Walker elementary schools, going wherever they attended primary grades.
“It’s so exciting, it’s great for the (elementary) kids to be able to see where they’re going and it’s great for the kids to see our old students coming through,” Dorr told Ashland.news.
Senior Hank Stringer, a member of student leadership at AHS, noticed a familiar face in the crowd, volunteer Earl Wagner, as he walked through the line of high-fives.
“Earl, it’s Hank!” Stringer yelled out.
“Hey, Hank! … Good to see ya, buddy,” Wagner responded, and both shook hands.
Wagner has taught electronics at Helman Elementary over the years and said he has had kids come back to me and say, “‘Earl, you inspired me, now I’m a double major in electronics and computer programming,’” Wagner said.
For Wagner, it’s all about creating aha moments for students and helping create new pathways. It’s also nice seeing them return to where they started.
“The kids are wonderful,” he said. “They keep me young, too.”
Dorr, who has been teaching at Helman Elementary for at least 15 years, helps organize a student video and photo slideshow that students watch at the end of their walk through the campus.
At the end of the walk through, students sat together with parents and school staff behind them looking on as they watched a video of their fifth-grade selves playing on a slide.
“I just think it’s a really nice way to honor a moment in time,” Dorr said. “I want to create a memory for them … I want them to be able to look back on their time here and go, ‘oh that was a really special place and we had a good time here,’ and just to feel honored in that moment, and seen and valued. That’s our job as teachers, is to help kids feel seen and valued.”
Arianna Van Heusen, parent of a 17-year-old daughter graduating Thursday, watched the video that included snapshots of her daughter when she was in fifth grade.
She said she’s been reflecting on memories of her daughter this week, “but also just excited for the future, too.”
Van Heusen’s daughter may take a “gap year,” possibly abroad, after high school.
Students posed for a class photo and revisited the playground, which has been renovated since they attended as Helman Dragons.
Now, as Grizzlies, they prepare to graduate at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Butler Bandshell in Lithia Park.
Principal Cuddeback, who led the seniors through the campus walkthrough, also spoke to Ashland.news about the event.
“This is such a sweet event to welcome them back,” Cuddeback said. “It’s interesting to see how the group changes and who’s still together as a cohort and who’s in different places now. It’s always, always such a heartwarming part of our year.”
Cuddeback emphasized it’s a big deal, too, for younger students who look up to the seniors who return to campus.
“They all make signs and they’re cheering them on and then they get to see, ‘Oh, that’s what I have to look forward to,’” she said. “When I graduate from high school, then I’ll get to come back. We hope it helps build in them that sense of hope and fortitude that they can then go on to graduate from high school.”
Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news.
