From kindergarten to commencement, Cascade students mark major milestones

LEAVENWORTH — For the Class of 2026, the end of the school year marks both a beginning and an end. As seniors are preparing to leave the halls they’ve walked for years, the kindergarteners are celebrating their first milestone in learning.

On June 5, the district's oldest and youngest graduates came together at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary, where seniors returned to their roots before helping usher kindergarteners into the next stage of their educational journey.

For many CHS graduates, the visit was a chance to reflect on where that journey began more than a decade ago. They reconnected with former teachers and reminisced on the long-lasting friendships made in their earliest school years.

For the young students of Peshastin-Dryden, June 5 marked their first learning achievement: graduating kindergarten. In a full-circle moment, the CHS graduates ushered the young students to their graduation ceremony, forming a walk-through tunnel with raised hands. The kindergarten graduates were greeted with applause, high-fives and encouragement from the elder Class of 2026.

“The brightness of each one of these students is more than words can describe,” said PD Principal Emily Ross. “I want to thank the families here…for letting us share the start of your child's life as they learn and grow and gain the skills they need to enter into a community.”

Later that day, the senior Class of 2026 took center stage, celebrating their accomplishments and looking ahead to what comes next. It was a night filled with nostalgia and excitement, featuring reflections from students and teachers, a senior class slideshow and fireworks to close out the night.

In her speech, AdileneCastaneda-Rodriguez, one of three CHS valedictorians, asked her fellow students to not dwell in the sadness over the end, but to honor its meaning with celebration and gratitude.

“The same way we once walked into high school, not knowing what would happen, we're now stepping into a future full of the same uncertainty, but also the same sense of possibility,” said Castaneda-Rodriguez. “Things were meant to end, but we were also meant to begin again.”

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media