Kindergarten students at Dorsett Shoals Elementary celebrated completing ABC Bootcamp with the school's annual parade Aug. 28, marching through the halls to applause from classmates, teachers and family members.

Kindergartners wore special vests they made with their families, each featuring a letter of the alphabet, as they walked. Fellow students, teachers and family members cheered them on with high-fives and words of encouragement.

Principal Kelly Brown said kindergarten teachers focus on one or two letters each day during the Bootcamp, helping students identify each letter, practice its sound, connect it to words and build letter-sound knowledge through engaging activities.

The goal, Brown said, is to build a strong foundation in letter recognition and letter-sound knowledge to help prepare the students for blending sounds, reading words and becoming confident beginning readers and writers.

"When it's time for the parade, our kindergarten students are so excited to show off their hard work, and we all love celebrating them and their learning," she added. "Many of our older students remember walking the hallways during their own ABC parade, so it makes it even more special to see them cheering on our youngest Panthers. The ABC Parade is a wonderful, yearly tradition and one we all look forward to each year."