If graduates can’t come to graduation to pick up their diplomas, the diplomas had to come to the graduates.
So it was on June 4, when Fennville Public Schools staff and administrators piled into decorated cars and buses in a sequence of four roving parades that circulated throughout the district to visit each graduating high school senior.
“In Fennville we’re going to lead,” said school board president Dave Johnson as the cars lined up at the school with area fire trucks. “I think a lot of districts have decided to wait for the governor to lift the order.”
As each parade pulled up to the seniors’ homes, horns and sirens blaring and staff cheering, the seniors themselves—having been given a schedule of approximately when the entourage would arrive—donned their cap and gowns and met a couple school officials in their front yards.
Along with their diplomas, each senior on the route received a gift bag gull of goodies: a senior T-shirt, three gift cards to local restaurants, an engraved thermal cup, and a cookie.
They also received a flash drive with copies of three recorded events: the awards ceremony, senior celebration video and the pre-recorded graduation ceremony that was set to go live online at 7 p.m. that night. Paired with that is the color program so they can follow along with the ceremony.
Johnson said many were disappointed when it looked as though there would not be the usual pomp and circumstance of the school’s usual commencement ceremonies.
“But now that they realize all the work that went into this—and once they saw how special the virtual senior honors night was—I think they really got on board,” he said. “We can’t bring them to the ceremony but we can bring the ceremony to them. It’s special and I think they’ll remember this.”
Contact Ryan Lewis at Ryan.Lewis.Editor@gmail.com or (269) 673-5534.
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