St. Joseph-Ogden High School has finalized their plans to honor the Class of 2020.
Originally scheduled for May 17, SJ-O will span the ceremony over three days, June 3-5, so that seniors can be honored individually with four family members present.
Seniors visited St. Joseph-Ogden High School this week in a controlled manner as they drove through to pick up their cap and gown for the ceremony. Per state guidelines released on Saturday, seniors will have to arrive at the school with their cap and gown, must maintain social distancing guidelines and cannot shake hands with school officials during this time.
Administration worked tirelessly over the previous eight weeks to ensure that the seniors knew they were being thought about while also taking into consideration how they might like to be honored as they transition from high school.
“Everything was on the table during discussions of how best to the most meaningful and intimate graduation for our graduates and their families,” St. Joseph-Ogden High School Principal Gary Page said. “From the moment the shut down was imminent this was something that was weighing heavy on our thoughts. While we were hoping for a ceremony that might include all students at once using social distancing on our football field with limited guests or even all students at once with no guests and streaming the ceremony, we knew this was a very unlikely possibility.
“Moreover, we discussed what a completely virtual option, a drive through option, a parade, and several others. In listening to what we were hearing from our graduates, families, and community as a whole we felt that these options did not offer the personal touch that our graduates and families deserved. This a very important event in the lives of our graduates and their families as it is more than a celebration of completing their compulsory education. It marks the closure of one important chapter of their lives and signals a transition to the next.”
Over the last 40 days, SJ-O has placed yard signs in graduate’s yards and released senior bios on social media and through local news publications.
Working with seniors and their families informally, the St. Joseph-Ogden administration received resounding feedback against a virtual ceremony. The staff, too, felt they wanted to do something more personal.
Discussion with the Champaign County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Health led to the Spartans getting to pick a 10 minute time slot where they could re-enter their high school, walk across the stage and pick-up their diploma.
“We have very specific guidelines we have to follow,” Page said. “We will have protocol for entrance and exit into the building, minimizing touch points, sanitizing touch points after each timeslot, social distancing and spacing of essential personnel, wearing of masks, etc.
Each graduate will be videotaped as they make their way across the graduation stage. Class officers, who traditionally give the SJ-O graduation speeches, and administrators who capture the spirit of the class will also be recorded and included in the video.
Staff will then take the recording, edit it to mimic the traditional SJ-O graduation ceremony., then distribute it to graduates.
The ceremony will also be released on the district’s website once it is completed.
Page said graduates have been on the minds and hearts of everyone at St. Joseph-Ogden High School since mid-March.
“While we know what we are trying to do for them falls short of what they deserve, we still care greatly for each and everyone of them,” Page said.
He added, “The class of 2020 at SJ-O is full of very special individuals. We have watched them grow up and mature into very fine and respectable young adults and to not be able to give them this very important piece of closure and transition is an awful feeling.
“They deserve more and it sucks so much has been taken away from them.
“To answer a little more personally, or maybe selfishly, I’m really struggling with not being able to look each one of the graduates in the eye, shake their hand, and offer my sincere congratulations and gratitude.”
