Weiser High School seniors will get to walk the stage in cap and gown for graduation

Weiser High School’s graduation on Sunday will combine elements of the traditional cap and gown ceremony with some unique aspects that were created due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 A committee made up of district and WHS administrators, trustees and parents has been working for more than a month on details for the Class of 2020 ceremony.
 Commencement is usually held in a packed Tom Falash Gymnasium, but that was not an option for this year’s graduating class of 124 seniors.
 WHS and high schools across the state have to come up with creative alternatives to traditional graduation events due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
 Some have opted for virtual graduations, while others have tried to incorporate some traditional in-person activities.
 The graduation will be held outdoors at WHS starting at 2 p.m. Graduates will be driven by their parents in a parade format to the stage.
 Each vehicle will stop at the stage and the graduate’s name will be announced. The seniors will walk across the stage, pick up their diplomas and get their photo taken.
 The graduates will proceed in a car parade that will follow the same route through Weiser as the homecoming parade.
 Parents and community members who want to show their support for the graduates should find a spot along the parade route. The parade will end on the east side of Weiser Middle School.
 At 3:30 p.m. a video of the formal aspects of graduation will be released on YouTube. These include a welcome followed by the National Anthem, opening remarks by senior class officers and speeches by honor graduates.
 The presentation of special scholarships and awards will follow and the video will end with comments from the senior class president.
 In a letter to parents, principal Dave Davies said the unique circumstances surrounding graduation this spring requires everyone to find creative, innovative ways to offer congratulations to graduates.
 The community is urged to join in a festive atmosphere along the parade route with music, everyone wearing red and white and posting signs of support in an effort to recognize seniors for their accomplishments.
 Last week, Weiser School District trustees voted to keep the WHS graduation on the date of May 17 after considering a alternate proposal to postpone graduation until June 14 and hold it outside at the football field in Memorial Park.
 WHS senior Grace Soulen told trustees she had collected more than 900 signatures on a petiton to move the graduation date to June 14.
 She said a commencement ceremony in June would allow graduates to enjoy a cap and gown ceremony on the football field and have parents and others attend.
 A June graduation would comply with the state’s multi-stage reopening plan. By then, restrictions would be relaxed to allow public gatherings, if the state met reopening criteria, she said
 She said seniors did not get to hold a senior party this year and the party funds would be used instead to hold graduation at the football field.
 The field would be marked off for the event to follow social distancing guidelines and parents agreed to help, she said.
 Davies said he had some sleepless nights trying to come up with the best way to celebrate graduates.
 He also spent a lot of time talking to staff and to other SRV principals about how to organize graduation and comply with the governor’s rules on social distancing and public gatherings to curb any potential spread of coronavirus.
 Parents told him that it was important that they could watch their kids walk across a stage in cap and gown individually and get their diploma.
 Keeping graduation on May 17 was important to provide certainty for parents and students. Some seniors might not have been able to participate in a June ceremony, he said.
 “I am confident that 100 percent of our kids can make the May 17 graduation,” he said.
 District officials were also concerned that holding graduation on the football field would bring a large crowd and it would be difficult to make sure social distancing and other coronavirus safety precautions would be followed.
 Trustee Dr. Mark Pritchard said some decisions are not easy, but the school board tries to do the right thing for students. The school board voted to keep the graduation on May 17.