Graduation ceremonies a bit different for preschools this year

Two pre-schools held graduation/promotion ceremonies last week.
Rainbow Promise Pre-school, located at the United Methodist Church, held a low-key promotion ceremony for 52 students, said director Jennifer Colton.
“We promoted 26 students to pre-K next school year, and 26 to kindergarten,” Colton said.
Finishing school was a bit stressful because they didn’t get to do the pancake supper, and the Fun Day had to be postponed due to COVID restrictions.
“We are looking at possibly doing our Fun
Day sometime in July,” she said.
Colton said they usually have one summer camp a month from June to August, and she’s hoping to do one or two still this summer.
“I’ll have more information on both later,” she added. “Hopefully we will get to do other things for them as the summer goes on,” she added.
“Looking back, I could have planned more for the promotion and graduation—the kids deserve that,” said Colton.
Little Sunshine
Little Sunshine Preschool is located at Zion Lutheran Church.
Jacci Paisley and co-owner Ashley Exum held a graduation ceremony with staff for 13 preschoolers who will be starting kindergarten at the “big school” (Chase County Schools/CCS) this fall, said Paisley.
“The COVID pandemic forced us to close our doors on March 17,” she said.
This resulted in no end-of-year program or graduation ceremony for the soon-to-be kindergartners, she added.
“We wanted to honor and praise the accomplishments the 13 graduates achieved,” Paisley said. “This is an enormous milestone and deserves to have recognition while practicing social distancing.”
The staff at Little Sunshine preschool held a drive-by graduation while family and friends parked at a safe distance to watch the proceedings from their cars and cheer on their little graduates.
The parking lot was decorated in bright colored balloons and a recording was continuously playing “Pomp and Circumstance” while parents drove by with the students so they could receive their awards and a high-five from gloved hands.
Paisley said despite the different procedure they had to follow this year, they felt the drive-by graduation turned out well.
“We are excited to watch these individuals shine at CCS,” said Paisley.
Paisley added, “We are in the process of opening our doors June 1. We will follow extremely strict regulations to ensure the safety of the students and staff.”
There will only be limited spots available with all of the restrictions, but the staff is excited to see the kids again after being away for 2 1/2 months, she said.