Building upon the momentum initiated at last year’s event Washington-McKinley School conducted its second annual Dad's 30-Day Celebration on Friday, September 30th.
During the event, parents of students of all grade levels gathered together in a show of pride and support for the children. The parents lined up to cheer and “high-five” the students at the start of the school day in celebration of completing the first month of school.
“We invited the dad’s and other family members to join us on the playground to honor our students, to encourage them to work hard, and to help reinforce the idea of the importance of education,” said Washington-McKinley Principal Gretchen Sutherland.
The outstanding success of last September’s first Dad’s 30-Day Celebration made it natural to continue the event this year.
“We began the Dad's 30-Day Celebration as a display of love and empowerment for our students, and the on-going success of the event truly is a team effort by all of the Washington-McKinley family," said Helena Greenfield, a school Social Worker who helped spearhead the activity.
“This year's celebration provided us with the opportunity to show our students’ dads that we acknowledge their vital role in the success of their child's development, to show our students how much they are loved, and to show them just how much others care about their success as well,” Greenfield added.
A highlight of this year’s celebration occurred after the students had received their accolades when many staff members walked through the line receiving high-fives from the gathered parents.
“To see the wonderful outpouring of respect, admiration, approval and love directed towards our students and staff as they went through the line was to see the embodiment of all that we seek to do at our school,” Sutherland concluded.