An Eventful Day at the Vocabulary Parade

While high school students were in class, elementary kids were parading their creative costumes

On October 24, 2019, elementary students and teachers took to the hallways in the early school hours, showing off their costumes. Though Halloween was still a week away, they were celebrating another occasion: Vocabulary Day! Students ranging from kindergarten to second grade were tasked with choosing a new word and then turning it into a costume. With a great amount of time and energy spent on planning and advertising Vocabulary day, the turnout was tremendous!

Before the day officially began, elementary school teacher, Ms. Sutton, recalled the “…[excitement] to see what their friends wore and show their vocabulary word to their teachers and classmates.” Ms. Crane also talked of how “as a teacher, it was nice to see students get excited about vocabulary words.” At 8:10 AM, teachers started leading their students to the courtyard, lining up by their classes. Students walked with pride, showing off the costumes that took them and their parents weeks of planning.

Ms. Sutton (left) and Ms. Crane (right) channel their inner Disney Princess with their costumes Courtesy of Samuela Ma’u (9B)

(Left to Right) Ms. Ren, Mrs. Lucik, Ms. Cristy, and Ms. Arlene dressed up as the Shanghai Trash categories to showcase joy as Global Citizens Courtesy of Samuela Ma’u (9B)

The event wouldn’t have been complete without the involvement of the teachers! By 8:30 AM, the parade commenced. As a wave of students were crossing over to the high school campus, everyone could hear their sheer excitement as they were waving at the crowd of parents. Ms. Pierce mentioned that it was “…encouraging [to the students] that their parents [were there] to support them.” With this kind of support coming from the parents, it helped in the end with the participant turnout. Ms. Cristy also said that “I [mentioned the] parade in class and sent Wechat messages to parents [to remind them about the event]. I believe this helped with the excitement and participation.”

As kids walked the entire track, parents took countless photos and videos of their children showing off their work. It was a very pleasing sight, but what worried the administration was how safety would be regulated during the parade. Luckily, many teachers and staff volunteered in helping out. Ms. Evans and Coach Mostert did an excellent job keeping both the students safe, but also keeping the parents cheerful. Without their willingness to help, the parade would not have turned out as well!

Mrs. Evans and Coach Mostert flash a big smile for the camera as they enjoy the parade Courtesy of Samuela Ma’u (9B)

Towards the end of the parade, teachers and students took their last few photos and called it a day. Students started to take their costumes off and did more vocabulary enrichment activities. Ms. Cristy’s class did a vocabulary learning session, whereas Ms. Rosa’s class watched a movie to help kindergarteners learn new terms used in everyday conversation. Ms. Rosa went on to say that “…my little ones…were so excited to wear costumes, [they didn’t want to take them off]!” Ms. Mayer praised the event, saying that “It was great…[and] went off with almost no hitches.”

ETK2B enjoy a movie while waiting for snacks Courtesy of Samuela Ma’u (9B)

This year’s Vocabulary Parade was an exciting highlight of the school year, and kids are already excited to see what else is in store for next year’s event!

Featured Image — ETK2C pose for a silly photo in their costumes Photo Courtesy of Samuela Ma’u (9B)

by Samuela Ma’u