The day before the class of 2016 graduates was a time to go back to where it all started – elementary schools.

For the first time, after the senior assembly at Old Rochester Regional High School on Friday the senior class walked through the halls of the junior high and boarded buses to visit their old elementary schools in Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester.

The students arrived to a fanfare, as the current children of the schools greeted the seniors with banners and songs they had prepared, according to Erin Bednarczyk the school district’s website coordinator.

“Little kids acted like they had never seen teenagers before, and the big kids were crying and hugging their teachers,” Bednarczyk said. “It was really great.”

The students paraded around the elementary schools fully donned in their caps and gowns in anticipation for tomorrow’s graduation ceremony.

At Sippican School in Marion, after greeting the students and faculty, the seniors went outside and played with the kids on the playground.

The idea for the seniors to make this trip back to their elementary schools came from ORR principal Mike Devoll, and according to Bednarczyk, teachers immediately started emailing him to say how grateful they were that he made it happen.

“They said things like, ‘This was a really good idea. I haven’t stopped crying yet,’” said Bednarczyk.

The students seemed to agree and enjoyed the nostalgic day as well.

“That was a lot of fun,” senior Evan Roznoy said. “It was great to see old teachers…it was a nice walk down memory lane.”