An Irish-named city, Dublin hosts a popular Saint Patrick’s Day Parade every year for all Dublin citizens, and this year Emerald High got to be a part of the festivities for the first time.

This year’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was especially significant because it was the 40th parade for Dublin, boasting over sixty entries in the parade. The procession went through Dublin Boulevard and included people of all ages that came to represent and show the beliefs and communities they shared and were a part of. During the parade, people presented and walked with posters, banners, or handed out gifts and merchandise to those watching the parade. 

Emerald High participated in the parade along with many other high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools such as Dublin High, Fallon Middle, and Cottonwood Creek. The many schools were represented by students in some way contributing to the parade, from playing in marching band to fundraising for school clubs. Other participants included various stores, well-known figures such as the Dublin Mayor, the School of Ballet, and the linoleum and soft tile workers at Local 12. Hundreds of people came to watch, cheer, and take pictures of those in the parade from the sidewalk. 

Students, parents, and staff from Emerald High joined the parade as a way to represent their school. To this end, students either represented clubs and organizations they were a part of ors joined the parade exclusively as part of Emerald High. 

Unfortunately, there weren’t many Emerald High students who were part of the parade due to the number of students who decided to come. Marcella Widjaja regrets this lack of Emerald High presence: “It was a pretty cool experience and it was fun walking with my friends, but I was disappointed that hardly anyone came to show their EHS pride.”

This sentiment is shared by Emerald High as a whole as many were disheartened by the lack of school spirit for Emerald during the parade. Indeed, only very few students and staff actually participated in the parade itself, which poorly reflected on the newly built high school. This was especially problematic because Emerald is still building its reputation and establishing itself as an official high school in the coming years. Regardless, those who did attend as part of Emerald High had a memorable experience and enjoyed representing their school as part of the first of many parades that Emerald High will be in. 

Emerald students walking in the parade while holding the school banner (Photo courtesy of Sanah Bhasin) 

The 40th Dublin Saint Patrick’s Day parade was a truly memorable and exciting event for Emerald High and set the stage for many more parades in the future. Although school pride wasn’t represented much, the growing Emerald High student population will join and participate in more events and activities to show their school spirit and love for Emerald High School.