Each of the 96 Evergreen High School seniors will take part in an individual commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 31, 2020. Commencement is only one part of the Senior Celebration scheduled for the day on the campus of Evergreen Local Schools.
The Senior Celebration will include both outdoor and indoor activities to provide some of the traditional experiences seniors missed due to the mandated school closure. Administrators worked hard to comply with all COVID-19 social distancing and gathering requirements set forth by the Ohio Department of Education and the office of Governor DeWine. The celebration has been endorsed by the Fulton County Health Commissioner.
Each graduate is allowed four guests to travel with them in one vehicle. Upon arrival, all vehicles will enter campus from County Road 6 on the school’s service drive where they will embark on the celebration route complete with recognition stations along the way. Graduates will pull up to the stops one car at a time and individually approach staff/community members manning the booths to receive various accolades and gifts presented by various organizations, school clubs, and district personnel.
Celebration stops include: honor cords from National Honor Society, awards from FFA, winter athletics, and the music departments, and gifts from the senior class and After-Proms. Graduates will also receive their scholarship certificates, awards, and other recognitions they may have earned at various award booths. No booth will have more than 10 individuals gathered at one time. The DJ that was originally scheduled to play at this spring’s Prom will also be on campus pumping out tunes.
The major event during the celebration is the individual, in-person commencement ceremony. Each vehicle will park and the graduate along with his/her four guests will proceed into the gymnasium where their private ceremony will take place. The four guests will watch as the graduate walks across the decorated stage, receives his/her diploma from a board member or superintendent, has their name and future plans read, and finishes with a professional photograph.
After the ceremony, the graduate and guests will exit the gym through a separate door and continue along the celebration route on campus. To comply with social distancing rules: no more than 10 individuals will be in the gym at one time, and no one will cross paths with another family. Individuals are not permitted to exit their vehicles until the gym is cleared and it is their turn.
Each individual commencement ceremony will be recorded by a professional videographer. In addition to combining all of individual ceremonies, the videographer will include Evergreen’s traditional elements, including pre-recorded student speeches and passing of the senior scroll to next year’s senior class president into a commencement video.
Family and friends are invited to view the ceremony on the District’s YouTube channel from their homes on June 7, 2020 at 7:00 pm. The link to the video can be found on the district’s webpage at evgvikings.org closer to the premier. The video will remain on the District’s YouTube channel and will be available for download at a later date.
“We are looking forward to celebrating our graduates in person while maintaining all of the social distancing requirements,” said Mr. Curtis, high school principal. “While this set-up will never fully replace our traditional graduation ceremony, I hope our graduates enjoy this celebration and know that no matter where life takes them, the Evergreen community will always support them,” he added.
–PRESS RELEASE