By KC Smith

Cooleemee Correspondent

When fifth graders graduate from Cooleemee Elementary School – one tradition is to place their handprints on the wall inside the school hallway. The teachers weren’t going to allow this year’s graduates to miss out on the tradition, so they got creative.

A 15-minute increment schedule was created and students arrived one by one, had their hand painted, pressed their hand on the wall, their picture was taken, and then went to the bathroom to wash.

All teachers present managing this choreographed event wore masks. Some students arrived wearing masks, but not all.

When students graduate from high school, they visit the school in their cap and gowns and, of course, they find their handprint and have their picture made beside it.

On June 9, a graduation drive through took place at Cooleemee Elementary School at 3 p.m. All students received a bag, which included their photo taken on the hand-printing day.