Paige Cabral, 5, feels fine, just fine.

Cabral and nine others were part of the community’s youngest students to begin their education in earnest last week when they graduated from preschool. They will advance to kindergarten when school starts up again in mid-August.

Following her commencement ceremony, the graduate of Highlands Christian Preschool was asked: “How do you feel now that you’ve finished your preschool training?”

“I’m fine,” Cabral said. “I’m really fine.”

While graduation ceremonies typically feature performances by the band class, or even a musical performance by a student or two, graduation from the Highlands Preschool had all the pomp and circumstance of a great American variety show.

The grads, seven girls and three boys, entertained about 50 people with songs, poetry and the recitation of Psalm 23 during their Sunday afternoon graduation ceremony at the Highlands Christian Fellowship, a faith-based preschool.

This class marks the 21st class to graduate from the school.

“As long as God keeps giving them to us we’ll keep giving them all of our energy,” said the school’s Director Teena Ingram during a previous graduation. “With the programs we have here, we not only send the kids off ready for kindergarten, they’re ready for life.”

Years ago, when the former owner of a local Montessori school, Shirley Beltz, began feeling her school was becoming more than she could handle, she urged the Highlands Christian Fellowship to take it over.

“She gave us her half of the school and we were able to acquire her partner’s half at a very reasonable price,” Ingram said. “We saw the school as a way to become involved, and to help the community.”

But that wasn’t quite the beginning of the school.

“About 26 years ago Teena and I came to Calistoga with the desire to provide Christian education for children five days of the week,” said Kelland Ingram, pastor of the Fellowship. “We always hoped our three children would be in on it. After 21 graduating classes at Highlands Christian Preschool, I finally had a dog in the race.”

The “dog” in this race was his own grandson.

“My son’s own son, Isaiah, was one of (this year’s) graduates,” Ingram said. “As husband of the school’s director, I reigned myself in not to over-applaud the one little grad that shared my genes.”

But the grads received plenty of applause from the audience.

Ingram and her staff have prepared about 350 kids — an average of 15 kids per year — for kindergarten during the 21 years they have operated the Fourth Street school.

Before launching into their graduation exercise, the students made a little presentations. They sang songs like “You Must Pay the Rent,” and “Did You Ever Go Fishing?” and more. The class recited Psalm 23 and Isaiah Ingram, at the ripe old age of 5, read several verses from the New American Standard Bible.

“He’s been reading since he was 2,” said his grandmother.

In addition to their diplomas, the 10 were also given a hardback copy of “My First Bible,” a children’s illustrated bible. The diplomas and bibles were distributed by teachers Cheryl Trueblood and Marge Centanni.

Preschools, by law, must train kids to a certain level of understanding of colors, the alphabet and counting skills, education that previously began in kindergarten.

The class of 2022 started rehearsals for their commencement just after spring break — or about six weeks ago.

Unlike secular schools the graduates joined hands with their teachers and Ingram and her husband for a prayer, before they were given their preschool diplomas.

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