St Rose School eighth grade students were supposed to board a bus and head to Washington, DC, an annual tradition at the school. They could not get there this year, but Monsignor Robert Weiss, Principal Bardhyl Gjoka, and teacher Valerie Petrillo brought a little bit of DC to each of the 24 students, May 20.

At 7:30 am, they met outside the 40 Church Hill Road school and decorated their cars with flags, streamers, and messages for the eighth graders. They set off to the farthest areas including New Milford, Oxford, Southbury, and Shelton, then made their way around Newtown and Sandy Hook honking their horns and waving as they pulled into driveways.

In all they covered 130 miles and were met with many smiles.

Monsignor presented each with a DC-themed gift bag containing personally signed Washington, DC guidebooks, patriotic ties for the boys and scarves for the girls. Gjoka and Petrillo greeted them with good wishes and asked how they and their families are doing.

When asked if they are learning, the resounding answer was “Yes!”