WIESBADEN, Germany -- A Back-to-School Celebration took place Aug. 18 in Newman Village on Clay Kaserne. It was a COVID-19-adjusted version of the Back-to-School Expo that happens every year before school starts and provides information, resources and school material to parents and students.
“It’s fantastic, the weather is amazing,” said Peter Witmer, school liaison officer with U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden. “The community is so excited to see each other face to face, or face mask to face mask.”
The outdoor event featured information booths spread out on a long trail around the neighborhood. The booths included Army Community Service, Child and Youth Services, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Club Beyond, Red Cross, U.S. Army Warrant Officer Association, Wiesbaden High School Boosters, Wiesbaden Area Homeschoolers, USO, Civil Air Patrol, Senior Parent Association and more.
Families walked from booth to booth collecting goodies and giveaways, and gathering information.
Precautionary measures such as controlled entry points, staggered start times determined by last name and a limit of 10 people per station were taken to make the celebration a safe place.
“It doesn’t look crowded at times and that’s good, that’s by design, but there are a lot of people here because they’re all spread out,” Witmer said. “Families seem to be really enjoying getting to meet people they haven’t seen in a long time.”
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