Two days before Thanksgiving, a procession of 340 Munger Hill Elementary School students marched in their first parade to celebrate the holiday.
Students were inspired by a picture book, “Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade,” about the beginnings of the nearly 100-year-old Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. They used their creativity — and their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills — to make their own balloons and floats for the parade.
Paper plates with colorful designs, turkeys made from cardboard tubes and boxes decorated to resemble floats substituted for the giant balloons and big floats featured in the Big Apple parade. The parade route was lined with parents and other family members of students as it wound around the outside of the school.
The parade was led by preschoolers, followed by kindergartners, then grades 1, 2, 3 and 4. It was so long that the beginning of the parade was nearly at the front entrance when the last students were just reaching the rear of the school.
In addition to starting a new Thanksgiving tradition at the school, the parade was also a way to help to bring the entire Munger Hill School community together following the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.thereminder.com/localnews/westfield/westfield-pupils-show-off-creativity-in-thanksgivi/