The parade to honor Cinco Ranch High School graduates who attended Fielder Elementary School had a great turnout, event organizer Janie Dale said.
"Tears were shed," she said. "This was the first celebration for everyone with their cap and gowns,"
She added a music teacher from Fielder Elementary played his trumpet the entire parade.
Update 12:36 p.m. May 21
Katy ISD senior Victoria Dale said she wishes she had known that the days before spring break were going to be her last at Cinco Ranch High School.
“We didn’t know it would be our last day,” Dale said. “The school year ended so quickly, and it’s sad that we don’t get to go to prom or may not walk across the stage for graduation.”
To help celebrate the class of 2020’s accomplishment, Janie Dale, Victoria Dale’s mother, decided to find some way to honor the seniors in a way that aligns with social distance protocols.
Janie Dale remembered that for each of the past four years, Fielder Elementary, where Victoria Dale attended, has hosted a “clap out” parade, in which Cinco Ranch High School graduates of the of Fielder Elementary return in their caps and gowns and walk through the school as K-fifth grade students and teachers clap and celebrate the graduates.
Because of the coronavirus, this event was canceled, but Janie thought it could take place in another form.
“I decided I would do something,” Janie Dale said. “I thought, 'Let’s do something for our seniors. Let’s do a parade and let the community clap them out.'”
With the help of other Cinco Ranch High School parents, KISD staffl and local law enforcement, a parade of at least 55 cars will travel from Cinco Ranch High School to Fielder Elementary on May 21, Janie Dale said.
Senior students interested in joining can line up their car—with someone else driving—at the Cinco Ranch parking lot by the tennis courts at 5 p.m. Seniors are encouraged to wear their cap and gown and to decorate their ride to celebrate their graduation. The parade will begin at 5:30 p.m., and community members can watch the parade at various spots along the parade route.
More information about the event is available on Facebook.
“This is a great opportunity for seniors to wear the caps and gowns and still follow social distance protocols,” Janie Dale said.
Victoria Dale said she and many of her friends will attend and that it will be nice to be able to say goodbye to her friends and teachers.
“It’s definitely something different," Victoria said of how coronavirus affected her senior year. “But I’m happy that my experience is different. I know I’ll definitely remember this.”
