First kindergarten class graduates at Groff Elementary
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
Kindergartners at Vicki Groff Elementary jam out to surfing music at their graduation Friday. The class is the first at Moses Lake’s newest elementary school. The $18.1 million elementary school opened last September and is about 57,000 square feet in overall space.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Counselor Jannette Serrano-Vasquez opens the ceremonies at Groff Elementary School's first-ever kindergarten graduation.
Scarlett McCollough gets into her performance at the Groff Elementary School kindergarten Friday.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 13, 2022 2:24 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Vicki Groff Elementary School gym was brimming with adorability as 65 kindergartners held a graduation program Friday, joined by an audience of about 150 family members.
“We are so proud of all the work our students did this year,” said Counselor Jannette Serrano-Vasquez in her introductory remarks, standing in for Principal Nikki Mackey. “They have fun learning together, doing math, reading, science and writing, art and so much more.”
The kids leaving kindergarten Friday are the first class to attend Groff, which opened in the fall. They’ll be the high school Class of 2034, Serrano-Vasquez pointed out.
The kids entered the gym and said the Pledge of Allegiance before a flag held by kindergartner Shaurya Singh. Then they picked up little cardboard surfboards and rocked out to “Surfin’ USA” and “Dynamite.”
Then it was time for diplomas. One by one, teachers Katrina Betes, Rebecca Dalton, Carina Cruz and Candace Pitts called their students to the microphone, gave them their printed certificates and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. There were plenty of prospective teachers, firefighters and police officers, as well as a smattering of gamers- and YouTubers-to-be.
Next came a slideshow depicting the kids’ activities throughout the year, and the attendees went outside to enjoy some snow cones. Each child received a “bucket of fun,” to take home, Betes said, which included chalk, bubbles, Play-Doh and a snack.
“The kids created the surfboards themselves,” Betes said. “The pictures in the slideshow are taken throughout the year during different celebrations. We do monthly celebrations for learning every color, from red to brown to all of them.”
“It was a big production,” she added. “We put a ton of time into it, to make sure that it was a blast, and one that's going to be remembered for the rest of the rest of their lives, hopefully, at least by their parents.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.
