This Wednesday, as part of the activities that the district has planned for seniors who graduate in less than a week, the Class of 2022 will revisit their elementary schools. This “Walk Back in Time” event will be the first in North Allegheny history. 

NASH Principal Dr. Dirda was ecstatic about sharing the news of the event, which was initiated by Peebles Elementary School principal Mrs. Bjalobok for the Class of 2022 seniors to enjoy.

“Mrs. Bjalobok reached out to me, and this was something she had always dreamt about and been excited about,” Dirda explained. “This is something that we actually did in a previous district that I worked at, and it was very well received, so we figured with the size of our district and this graduating class, this would be an event that[the seniors] would enjoy.”

Students who plan to participate in the nostalgic event will attend school at 7:15 am as usual but will not be attending their regularly scheduled classes. Instead of making their way to their first period class, the seniors will meet in the NASH auditorium for a senior meeting, followed by a complimentary senior breakfast and time for mingling with classmates in the cafeteria. Students will be able to enjoy their morning with peers inside or outside and also have time to sign yearbooks as well.

“Around 9:00, we will split up by the seven different elementary schools, take attendance, and be escorted to the elementary schools,” Dirda described. “Students will be at their elementary schools for around half an hour, partaking in events each individual elementary school has planned.”

As for students who did not attend elementary school at North Allegheny, there will be events for them to participate in back at NASH.

When seniors return to NASH, they will eat their lunches at their normal times and then have the option to socialize in the gym, library, cafeteria, or auditorium. 

Many seniors are thrilled about the event — an opportunity to walk down memory lane with their peers and remember their elementary days as if they happened yesterday.

“I am really looking forward to getting to see my school one last time and being able to walk the halls again,” senior Emily McCleod said. “I would love to see some of my old teachers and thank them for their help in making me who I am today. I think my time there truly shaped me as a person and I am proud to be a Bradford Woods Elementary alum.”

Senior Reagan Means is interested to see the changes that have been made over the years to her elementary school. 

“I am so excited to go back and see what’s changed and who’s still there,” Means said. “I spent a lot of time in the art room, so I’m excited to see how it will be decorated this year.”

Many seniors are finding themselves reflecting on their childhood school days as their time at North Allegheny comes to an end.

“My most distinct memory from elementary school was slamming my head on the top rail of the tire swing while someone was pushing me,” senior Mia Simmons recalled. “That thing gave me PTSD and a fear of tire swings.”

Some memories, however, seem crazy to look back on years and years later. 

“I vividly remember the clap out at the end of the year for the fifth graders and being so amazed that I was going to middle school,” senior Mads Wilson said. “Now here I am, less than two weeks from graduation.”

Elementary education is the start of the North Allegheny experience, and now seniors get to end their time the same way it began. This chapter of student’s lives has come to an end, but the memories will never fade.