Sarasota High teachers cheer on seniors as they pick up graduation garb

Teachers decked out in black and orange danced and waved signs to encourage the 2020 class as they picked up their caps and gowns Thursday in a drive-through arrangement. 

The senior class has already missed out on such as activities like Grad Bash and the prom, so senior class adviser Amanda Mavrikas wanted to do something special for the students.

Students were scheduled to pick up their caps and gowns on April 23 if school were still in session as usual, so Mavrikas wanted to use the day to create something special. 

"I just feel like the seniors have already had so much change and I just felt like it was really important to keep as much the same as possible," Mavirkas said. "If there's anything we can do to make these last few weeks special for them I'm all in." 

Students knew they were going to pick up their graduation garb, but they didn't know the teachers would be there to great them. 

Teachers wore costumes, decorated their cars and yelled words of encouragement to students through their car windows. Many students took photos and videos as they drove through the lines of teachers. 

"It just brings tears to my eyes," Mavrikas said. "The kids are crying getting to see their teachers and this kind of gives us a little closure, which has just been very special to them and to us. "

This story will be updated for the May 1 edition of The Sarasota Observer.