Due to COVID-19 circumstances this year, Godwin’s Homecoming game and dance were unable to occur. Although students did not get their traditional Homecoming, Godwin’s students and staff were not going to let their community down.
Instead of a Homecoming dance, students and teachers created a drive through parade. In past years, Godwin has always had a parade for Homecoming, but this year the leadership committee had to reinvent it.
Godwin leadership teacher Rebecca Martino wanted to make sure there was an alternative that created a sense of community within Godwin. “The goal was to provide a safe opportunity for students to show their school spirit and a way for students and teachers to see each other in person,” said Martino.
The parade took place at Godwin on Nov. 19 and was directed by leadership teachers, leadership students, and many others. “Mr. Nadeau set up a new sound system so we could have music which was really nice! Custodians helped move tables and lots of teachers came to show they care about Godwin,” said Martino.
The parade was a drive through in Godwin’s bus loop where students and faculty were all around the route. Students got the chance to see some of their teachers in person and experience student school spirit.
“We believe that one of the things that separates Godwin from other schools is the relationships we all build throughout the course of the school year,” said junior leadership student Anthony Maratos.
This school year has been different than any other. For new students this was one of their first opportunities to embrace and get a feel for the student body at Godwin.
Senior Caroline Hubbard was on the planning committee of the parade and wanted to make sure new students got to have their first experience of Godwin school spirit. “New students haven’t experienced the atmosphere of our student section or the energy at pep rallies, and I think that events like this help those students to not miss out on as much,” said Hubbard.
According to Maratos, the parade had an amazing turnout and all of the participants who attended seemed like they enjoyed it. The parade fostered a sense of Godwin community, not only for students but also the teachers.
“Some of the teachers who attended the parade had not seen each other since March! It was nice to be on campus together,” said Martino.
The parade allowed the student committee to work together to create a sense of normalcy.
“We wanted to give the students something close to a normal school event, so that is why we decided on a parade like we do every year,” said Hubbard.
According to Hubbard, the parade was partially meant to impact the students by seeing that even though this year is crazy, Godwin can still be normal. It was important for the students to see that.
“Many believed that it gave them hope during a time which may have left many feeling slightly more lonely than normal,” said Maratos.
Both Hubbard and Maratos said that Godwin can expect another event like the parade to happen sometime in the future. They are determined to connect the students with teachers in a fun and unique way.
“We hope that this parade is the first small step to normalcy and reuniting the Godwin community,” said Maratos.
