ST. PETERSBURG — Lake Vista Recreation Center’s community room served as a station of dreams for graduates with imagination to move on to the big school of kindergarten where they will continue to field their dreams. Parents, grandparents and great grandparents applauded in approval as smiles brightened the room and a sigh of relief that they made it, even if it was just through preschool.
“Welcome parents and friends to our 2016 Imagination Station Preschool Graduation,” said Niya Cutter, a 2016 graduate of Imagination Station. “We are glad that you were able to come out to our graduation. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.”
About that time, little people seemingly standing in the middle of red caps and gowns began to stroll along the back wall as they circled the room to allow anxious parents to marvel at their offspring, while headed to center stage for their presentations.
After an official welcome, pledge of allegiance, song and prayer, all led by preschool graduates, the 2016 graduation class introduced themselves and shared their date of birth. Only your imagination could conceive how this would go. I’m sure having four and five year olds with a microphone in their hand and a captive audience made the moment a little testy for Jackie Lang, director of Imagination Station Preschool.
“Regardless of how many times we rehearsed and how perfect it’s done in practice, you can never predict the actual outcome of the ceremony,” said Lang. “They’re just babies. They know what to do; you know that they know what to do, but what will actually be done, no one knows. Not even them.”
The class recited a terribly cute little poem, and finally the moment they all had been waiting for— the presentation of diplomas. It all started out very smoothly. The teacher called the student’s names and the graduates collected their diplomas.
Then it happened. One relaxed graduate stopped the flow of things right in its tracks. As his named was called forth to receive his diploma, it was discovered that he had taken his shoes off–both of them. In a mad scramble to stop this portion of the ceremony from falling completely apart, Lang’s prediction had come true: “what will actually be done, no one knows.”
