While Panorama students would usually be anticipating the final bell on their last day of school, instead they returned in droves Wednesday night for a special event to wrap up an unforgettable year.

The school district organized an end-of-the-year parade for students and families to drive around the school buildings, wave hello to staff, and wish them a good summer. Elementary Principal Liz Ratcliff says their lead team has been wanting to hold a parade ever since the COVID-19 public health emergency began in Iowa, and they thought this way would be the safest to bring the community together, “Oh, it’s so fun. When you’re a teacher or an educator in the school system these are the kind of things that you live for, just that contact with the kids and the families. And obviously that’s something we haven’t had in a while so we’ve had an awesome turnout with our staff and our families.”

Ratcliff adds that since students have been learning from home instead of the classroom for the last couple months, she practically feels ready to welcome the students back in the doors, but she hopes everyone has a great summer and she thanks the staff for the effort they’ve put in the last few months to shift lessons to online.