Senior class gets updates on graduation

By Mead Gill, Copy & Online Editor, and Amelia Spence, Co-Content & Publishing Editor

As the end of the school year draws near, so does the slew of events that typically takes place during the final quarter, with prom and graduation among them. However, the way these celebrations have taken place in years past is incompatible with COVID-19 restrictions, forcing students and staff to get creative.

Principal Danny Rock and counselor Tara Vanselow hosted a virtual meeting with the senior class on March 18, highlighting this topic.

“None of us expected this thing to last a year. The good news for [seniors] is that things are slowly opening up, and so as long as we don’t have some crazy increase of cases and positivity and hospitalizations… I think we can expect that we are only going to have more and more capacity to gather and hold events, and to return to some of the really important and special celebrations.” Rock said.

Graduation in particular has been the topic of numerous questions throughout this year. Many remember the graduation of the class of 2020, which was made up of two parts; a parade through the streets of downtown Vashon, and a virtual graduation ceremony featuring all the speeches and awards that would have taken place at an in-person event. This year’s graduation will take on a somewhat similar format.

“[Graduation] will include a parade, [and] it will include a ceremony that is either out on the field with limited attendance or, if the weather’s horrible, in the gym with even more limited attendance.” Rock said. The ceremony will also be broadcasted online for the public to view as they please.

The decision to bring back the parade was pushed for by the senior class, and many hope it will turn into a long-standing tradition.

“We’re even going to make it legal this year. I think we’re going for a permitted parade as opposed to the illegal non-permitted parade we did last year.”

As expected, not every detail has been figured out. Issues such as the limit on attendance are yet to be determined.

“‘I don’t know’ is the short answer,” Rock said, in response to a student question about how many guests one could bring to graduation. “But if it was happening today, [students] could bring two people from each household.”

While the celebratory events this year will look different than they have in years past, the faculty is focusing on the positives of the situation.

“It’s pretty darn exciting that we get to have a graduation!” counselor Tara Vanselow said.