Walt Whitman HS Class Of 2023 Visit Elementary Schools

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — The saying goes, "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been," wrote the South Huntington School District.

For Walt Whitman High School seniors, the annual Senior Walk on June 15 took them literally back to where they have been, just before they start on the road to where they are going.

Seniors took a fun, emotional walk down memory lane after they picked up their cap and gown, put on their graduation finery, boarded buses and headed for a visit to their respective South Huntington intermediate school: either Birchwood or Maplewood.

There was a little Birchwood versus Maplewood rivalry first. Once the seniors get to their school, the BW and MW teachers and students were there waiting to cheer on the grads, along with high fives and hugs, as they walked through the halls where they spent grades three through five.

The tradition started in 2019 as a way to establish a reconnection between teachers, administrators and the children they had a hand in helping to graduate.

"We decided to do something where students would be able to go back and see the teachers that may either have made an impact in their life, or be able to see the hallways where they once were little kids and dreamed of being up at the high school," said John Murphy, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

It’s also meant to give the students in the lower grades the chance to see the older students, who have been where the younger kids are now, and realize what they, too, can achieve at the pinnacle of their educational journey.

For the Maplewood and Birchwood teachers, it’s a chance to see former students they may not have seen for years. For the seniors, it's a moment to thank or hug that early grade teacher who made a difference in their life, and helped make memories that will last a lifetime.

"To see the look on kids' faces when they walk in and they see their first or second or their fourth grade teacher," Murphy said. "Or to have that principal see a kid that maybe wasn't as extroverted as he is as a young adult, now being able to see how they've grown and matured. Being able to make that connection again with the Senior Walk and realize how special their journey or their pathway was in South Huntington has been a great accomplishment."