This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
06/14/2020 12:00 AMA class of kids who are used to academic transitions showed plenty of school spirit during the Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) eighth grade vehicle promotion parade around the Branford High School (BHS) building on June 12.
Most of their time at WIS has been marked by transition, beginning with the school building expansion breaking ground on June 7, 2018 on up to Jan. 6, 2020, when the WIS Class of 2020 became the first eighth-grade class to study in the school's newly opened academic wing; as Phase 2 construction began on the remainder of their former school building. Then, in March, COVID-19 school closings across the state cut short their time in their new school building. They next transitioned, together with the rest of Branford Public Schools (BPS) students, to undertaking "Flex Learning" at home. In May, when the state announced schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year, that created one more, very dramatic transition for their final intermediate school experiences as the WIS Class of 2020.
On June 12, WIS principal Raeanne Reynolds, her teachers and staff organized a special promotion parade they hoped would serve to celebrate the accomplishments and perseverance of each member of the WIS Class of 2020. It also served to welcome them to BHS, where they will transition through their final four years with BPS. During the early evening event under blue skies, three waves of students arrived in decorated vehicles to circle the building. Along the way, they were greeted by WIS administrators and teachers and Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez. Teachers set up folding chairs along the parade route, waving signs and balloons, with students shouting greetings and waving back from decorated vehicles with their families inside, horns blaring. Everyone cheered the kids on as their vehicles approached the promotion table at the front of the school.
The promotion point was marked by two giant red and white balloon columns. After Reynolds walked certificates of promotion up to each student, she invited them to step out of the vehicle for a photo which spoke to their next transition. Standing outside the main entrance to BHS, each graduate was framed in front of a red and white banner with bold "WIS" lettering on the left and "Class of 2024" next to a BHS Hornets' mascot on the right.