By Vicki Greene, Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH — High School seniors will be the stars of the day Saturday, June 5, after going through a difficult year.
Graduation is set to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on John G. Noble Field. It will be done in three waves with 90 graduates per ceremony. Each student can bring up to five guests. New this year, there will be a standing area for seniors that want to attend other groups to see their classmates’ ceremonies.
“We’re very lucky and feel very confident [in safety precautions],” High School Principal Dan Riley told the School Committee on May 11.
Students and families are submitting feedback via an online survey due back on May 14. Students can opt out of the in-person graduation if they so choose. The entire graduation day will be livestreamed as it was last year.
Riley said he had been contacted by parents and students asking why the school was not holding one graduation for the entire class and he explained that faculty and administrators wanted to make sure it was the best possible experience for students and for spectators.
Schools community plans Red Carpet Gala and “Operation Graduation”
In lieu of a traditional prom and the traditional “All-Nighter,” seniors dressed in formal attire will walk the red carpet complete with Hollywood glamour, lights and “paparazzi” taking photographs as they enter the high school through a tunnel, Sarah Casey, faculty co-advisor to the senior class told the School Committee.
Seniors will head to the school’s field house for more photo backdrops created by teachers and students. There, they will vote for prom court and homecoming court.
Students will then head out to Vital Field for food. There will be chairs labeled for each student set up in front of a stage complete with a DJ. Senior faculty awards, senior superlatives, and other awards will be presented. In addition, there will be a dance competition, though there will be three-to-six-foot social distancing required while dancing.
The Gala runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and then students will change out of their formal attire for the “Operation Graduation” event hosted by the All-Nighter Committee. The night will wrap up at 10 p.m.
See full coverage of graduation plans at CommunityAdvocate.com.
