Students and staff at Smith Road Elementary School in Temperance, Mich., release hundreds of balloons during a special good-bye ceremony for the school.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Taylor Fordham, 6, a first-grader at Smith Road Elementary School, watches balloons float to the sky.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Sixth-graders including, from left, Morgan Moore, Jada Jones, and Lexi Steinmetz, sing "So Long, Farewell" during a school closing program.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Principal Carol Perz addresses students and staff. "This school is like family," she said later. "We are very close."
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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School volunteer Dave Siravo, of Toledo, reads a poem he wrote called "My Children" to the last classes at Smith Road Elementary School.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Smith Road Principal Carol Perz embraces Dave Sirava after he read a poem during the goodbye ceremony.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Principal Carol Perz gives students a thumbs up as students and staff bid farewell to Smith Road Elementary.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Jenn Scally, a parent of two students at Smith Road Elementary, wipes a tear.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Beth Johnston, a third-grade teacher at Smith Road Elementary, comforts students Clara Gill, 9, left, and Daelyn Perez, 9.
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Principal Carol Perz autographs a student's shirt following a special goodbye ceremony at Smith Road Elementary School.
The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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