Vernon Secondary School graduates made their mark on the school grounds in the sweltering heat Tuesday.
Signatures in the yearbook is one thing, but having the opportunity to spray paint your name on the drive through 15th and 18th Street is pretty neat, students said.
Playing up on last year’s first COVID class, the revived tradition moved from Suicide Hill to local grounds.
The Class of 2020 was the first in nearly 40 years to mark the portion of 30th Avenue after the City of Vernon agreed to close the road to traffic for three months.
This year, students were sent out in the cohort groups on June 22, about 10 at a time, to paint in the heat.
The senior students grabbed their brushes and what was left of the spray cans and covered the tarmac with signatures, memes and pictures.
Teachers and supervisors reminded students inappropriate markings would be covered by beautiful flowers.
This Class of 2021 will have a different backdrop to their annual class photo shot by Wayne Emde.
Principal Ken Gatzke said the photo, which is usually snapped on the steps of the Vernon courthouse, was taken at the school Monday “out of respect of the 215 little ones found in Kamloops.”
There is a memorial built on the stairs complete with baby shoes honouring the Indigenous children found buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Students also wore orange ribbons, Gatzke said.
Like last year — as COVID-19 pandemic rules still apply, albeit differently — the students will have their photos taken in sections and Photoshopped together to make a complete composite.
The students are engaging in grad events all week including a reverse parade and a drive-thru graduation.
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