Seniors from all the Macon County Schools emerged from buses during a beautiful and cool spring morning, April 22, to be greeted by students at six schools during the annual Grad Walk.
“Our first Grad Walk was in 2019 and the purpose is for high school students to visit their elementary school, Mountain View Intermediate (MVI), and Macon Middle schools one last time [before they graduate],” said Penny Moffitt, teacher at Franklin High School (FHS), who was recently named the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) career development coordinator. “We also incorporate our Honorary Diploma, which is an opportunity for every senior to give this honor to the teacher that has most impacted their K-12 educational journey. It is intended to also ignite a spark to show gratitude by writing additional note cards and letters to those who have poured into their journey.”
Students at all schools on the 2024 Grad Walk itinerary anticipated enthusiastically the arrival of a parade of white and yellow buses packed with seniors representing FHS, Bartram Academy, Macon Early College, and Macon Virtual Academy. Each year, the event is organized by a senior on the FHS Student Leadership team. “This year, Emma Cait Breeden, an FHS student, has managed the project,” noted Moffitt.
Waiting to hug the oldest of his four daughters was Penny Moffitt’s husband, Justin Moffitt, a teacher of computer applications at MVI. “I told my students before we came outside to greet the seniors that we are cheering them on because they have worked hard,” said Justin. “These [Mountain View] students will be there in a few short years and they will want to be cheered on as well.”
Justin added that seeing his daughter, Avery, an FHS senior, parade through the 600-plus student body at MVI was “bittersweet … another chapter.”
