, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Teachers and staff of Hills-Beaver Creek Public Schools took to the streets Friday afternoon in a “Teacher Parade” through the district’s communities.
The group of almost 50 district employees climbed into about 30 personal vehicles and four school buses for the drive through Steen, Beaver Creek and Hills.
The event took about an hour to complete.
“We miss your faces!” was a theme for the parade organized by the secondary school staff.
Math teacher Nora Wysong was one of the organizers.
“We felt it was important to let students know how much we missed them,” she said. “We decided, ‘Why not a ‘Honk Parade’ and brighten their day.”
Under the district’s distance learning plan, teachers have been talking with students through computers using the Zoom app.
Teachers last met with students face-to-face March 16. Virtual classroom instruction began March 30.
“We tell them in Zoom meetings how wonderful it is to see their faces,” Wysong said. “But there is something special about physically seeing those smiles and seeing them.”
Teachers met at the secondary school in Hills, affixing signs to personal vehicles and buses. Individuals were cognizant of social distancing guidelines, staying six feet apart.
The parade was met with a rain shower through the first community.
“Even though it was raining, there was a great turnout in the city of Steen,” said Superintendent Todd Holthaus at Monday’s school board meeting.
Preschool- through high school-aged students dotted the parade route that wound through Beaver Creek and ended back in Hills. Students and parents appeared on porches or along boulevards to wave and shout words of greeting as vehicles honked in return.
“I saw a lot of smiles, a lot of students I haven’t seen in awhile,” Holthaus said. “Boy, it was good for the soul.”