Educators at Woodward Academy hold caravan to deliver special school spirit to seniors

Woodward Academy allowed FOX 5 to join their caravan visiting members of the Class of 2020 on April 28, 2020. (FOX 5)

Woodward Academy in College Park has been closed for more than a month and will remain so for the rest of the year. While it is sad for some students, it can be a bit heartbreaking for the Class of 2020 who won’t get the traditional senior-year experience.

Woodward staffers were powerless to make the typical end-of-year celebrations happen, but they weren’t completely powerless. They worked hard to bring a special surprise to their seniors.

“Our hearts break for these students who have been stripped of their end-of-year culminating activities that are beloved and much anticipated for all students at the end of their Woodward journey,” Woodward wrote in a release sent to FOX 5.

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A Woodward Academy senior holds up a spirit sign provided by the school during a caravan on April 28, 2020. (FOX 5)

Tuesday, a small delegation of teachers and administrators met at the main campus and then loaded up a caravan of buses with graduation treats and took to the road. They traveled all over metro Atlanta, visiting all the seniors currently stuck at home because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

They stopped at as many senior homes as they could, handing out a spirit yard sign and a goodie bag containing a box of homemade cookies, custom Woodward Academy M&Ms, and a card.

"This is really special to know that Woodward took the time to put this together for us and bring us our signs so we have and even better, and even more memorable positive ending note if that's even possible from where we are now,” Naomi Censullo, Woodward Class of 2020.

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A Woodward Academy senior holds up a spirit sign provided by the school during a caravan on April 28, 2020. (FOX 5)

The school let FOX 5 follow the caravans as they made their rounds. The surprise school squad was met with all smiles from senior students.

"What we would like particularly for the Class of 2020 to take away from this experience is they are resilient young adults and no matter what challenges they may experience in the years and decades to come, when they look back on this experience, the things that saw them through this unusual time, it will carry them forward in ways that they never could have imagined,” said Stuart Gulley, Woodward Academy President.

Woodward has 268 graduating seniors in the 2020 class. School officials said they made 257 deliveries Tuesday. Eleven packages were mailed to the remaining students.

A Woodward Academy Upper School counselor drops off a spirit sign during a caravan on April 28, 2020. (FOX 5)

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