An annual tradition at Bay Area elementary schools is class photo day, with students lining up in the gymnasium or another indoor location to have their pictures taken for the school yearbook.
But with many campuses closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tradition has become a challenge.
However, Petaluma's Grant elementary school held a recent drive-by photo event to help students have some kind of normalcy this school year.
Parents drove up to the curb, and their kids were led one-by-one and six feet apart to the school’s garden, where two photographers snapped photos.
Principal Amanda Grey said her kids were not sure what to expect.
“They were thinking they were going to have to take their pictures in the car,” Grey said with a laugh. “But when they found out they got to go on campus, they were really excited, so it’s just a little bit of normalcy for them, I think, in this crazy time.”
Grey thought the school was going to scrap picture day this year.
“Picture day is always an important part of the beginning of the school year,” Grey said. “And though it took a couple months to figure out how we were going to do it, I was excited to have already worked with a company that did photos outside.”
And fortunately, the sun broke out in Petaluma on Monday, making for a perfect day for outdoor photos.