MHS to host a single graduation for first time since COVID-19 onset

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MHS to host a single graduation for first time since COVID-19 onset
Seniors process out of last year’s Marlborough High School graduation. (Photo by/Laura Hayes)

MARLBOROUGH – This year’s Marlborough High School (MHS) graduation ceremony will be a single, unabbreviated ceremony for all graduates for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, MHS Principal Dan Riley told the School Committee last week. 

Riley presented to the committee on March 22, noting that the graduation ceremony is scheduled for June 5 at 11:00 a.m., at the John G. Noble Field. Students will each be able to bring up to four guests.

The Class of 2020 had observed its graduation through 11 different small ceremonies. Last year’s graduating class had two split ceremonies. 

“We’ve been getting back to that one ceremony,” Riley said of current plans.

Riley said that he has spoken with the student leadership at Marlborough High School, saying that he thinks everyone is in agreement about the plan.

He added that the graduation is scheduled to start earlier than previous graduations, which had been held in the MHS field house. 

The early start time for this year’s outdoor event is designed to accommodate a possible delay in case of inclement weather.

Riley said that this Class of 2022 graduation will feature a full agenda with speeches from students and honored guests, live performances by student musicians and free photography for all graduates, which Riley said MHS has offered for the past two years. 

“I feel like we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from students and families that they’re able to go online and get those fantastic pictures of their graduates crossing the stage and of their graduates at the midfield mark at Noble,” Riley said of the photo program.

Though this year’s graduation will more closely resemble its pre-pandemic iterations, that four-guest limit remains. 

Recognizing that, Marlborough School Committee member Katherine Hennessy asked if it would be feasible to livestream the event. 

Marlborough Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bergeron said that he could not promise that a livestream would be available, though he said the matter would be looked into.

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