By Jason W. Brooks
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Before about 115 Fountain Hills High School Class of 2025 seniors head to Fountain Park for their May 23 graduation, they took one last trip down the halls of their younger years.

Decked out in caps and gowns, the FHHS seniors participated in the Grad Walk. That was a May 13 event in which the seniors visited with Little Falcons Preschool and other younger district students and are wished well as they complete their K-12 journeys.

Loud applause greeted the seniors as they filed off of a bus and through the halls of McDowell Mountain Elementary School. Not only were the K-6 students enthusiastic — especially the upper grades — but there were also family, friends and former teachers there to wish them well with hugs and high-fives.

FHHS Principal Barrie Pinto said it was a little tough to get seniors to buy into the event and be enthusiastic about it at first. This was especially true when she was an assistant principal at much-larger Arcadia High School when now-FHUSD Superintendent Cain Jagodzinski was the principal there.

“At first, we could tell they were thinking ‘This is stupid,’” Pinto said. “But then, they saw those faces light up and they got into it. After a while, you could tell the seniors are loving it.”

While the preschoolers waited for prompting to cheer and thank the seniors for showing up, they seemed grateful for the visit and recognized some familiar faces.

“There aren’t really many families that have kids in both preschool and high school at the same time, but they do tend to recognize elementary-age peers.

Denise Matus, director of Little Falcons Preschool, said her students see high schoolers they know peripherally.

“They’ll say ‘That’s Auntie so-and-so’s son,’” Matus said. “I get to see kids I had. And since I’ve been doing this for 34 years, some of my students, I see their kids now.”

Matus said there’s enough talk about graduation that the youngest students know what it is.

“We talk about what it means, and why it’s important,” she said.

Pinto said it takes some of the seniors more time than their peers to get into the spirit of the Grad Walk.

“We started this pre-COVID,” Pinto said. “The seniors not only see a lot of the siblings and other young relatives of theirs or their classmates. They see many of their early-grades teachers as well.”

Several seniors’ parents took advantage of the event as a reason to get photos of their teens in caps, gowns and usually formal wear. One parent, Auna Meinke-Fontaine, struggled to get a photo of her daughter, Liberty, smiling, but eventually succeeded.

Many of Falcons had attended Fountain Hills schools from kindergarten through their senior year. Not only do they have memories of their early-years teachers and classrooms, they’re still with the peers who witnessed those same memories.

Matus said her preschoolers are probably as excited about their graduation ceremony planned for this week as FHHS seniors are.

“They’ll have their diplomas — and their little hats,” Matus said.

The Little Falcons graduation is Thursday, May 22, 9:15 a.m. FHHS graduation is set for Friday, May 23, 7 p.m. at Fountain Park.

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Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.