P.E.I. grads gown up for ceremonies in a pandemic

Giving Grade 12 students a proper send-off while staying safe in a pandemic has been a challenge, says one P.E.I. principal.

Finalizing plans for commencement ceremonies has been tricky as the public health restrictions evolve to cope with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Most of the high school principals are at their wits’ end trying to plan something for their communities,” said Dale McIsaac, principal of Charlottetown Rural High School.

His team modified its plans several times as public health directives allowed, he said.

The province’s Chief Public Health Office has provided guidance and encouragement.

“It’s wonderful to see such various innovative, creative options coming out of Island schools, each fitting within that guidance,’’ chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison said at a news briefing in early June.

Many schools are planning a modified ceremony at the school where students will be seated in small groups with a small number of pre-approved guests.

Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside has a big day planned for its 215 students.

The graduation ceremony will take place between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. with groups of 15 students at a time, said mom Kendra Gaudet. Her daughter, Hilarie, is graduating this year.

“Students will walk across the stage, receive their diploma and then exit the school immediately. Two parents are allowed to attend per grad. Graduation will be live-streamed for other family members to watch. We will take the grad gown home, have a family gathering and get photos. Then, after all her friends have graduated, we will meet up with others to get some group, social distancing, photos. We also hope to have a 'prom parade' this summer and then the grads will go to the local drive-in, sit in their cars and watch the graduation video on the movie screen.”

“Myself and my staff really held fast that we needed to have family at the graduation."

GOING BIG

McIsaac and his team are organizing a ceremony for close to 300 graduates.

“We’re trying to have a regular ceremony, just in a smaller size,” said McIsaac.

They have come up with a staggered approach in order to keep it looking like a traditional event.

“Myself and my staff really held fast that we needed to have family at the graduation,” said McIsaac. “We had planned to have, we’ll call them mini-ceremonies. We didn’t want to go rapid-fire or anything. We planned for about a 45-minute ceremony.”

Ceremonies will alternate between the gym and the cafeteria, as 20 graduates and 40 guests, two for each grad, will gather for an abbreviated procession.

Once the first 20 have received their diplomas, the venue will be emptied for cleaning and the ceremony in the other space will begin.

McIsaac calculates they can send off around 80 grads per day, making the Rural’s commencement a multi-day affair.

And he won’t be finished with the Class of 2020 even after the last diploma is handed out.

“We still have lots more to plan when we can. The kids haven’t had a prom yet; we have to do that with them – and for them – whenever that is possible,” said McIsaac.

“If we have to have two ceremonies next June, we’ll do that because they haven’t heard – in person – their valedictorian, they haven’t heard the band, they haven’t heard any of the other things that are a special part of the graduation ceremony.

“They’ll not be forgotten.”

Dale McIsaac, principal at Charlottetown Rural High School, has worked hard to co-ordinate a pandemic-appropriate graduation ceremony for the close to 300 Grade 12 students at his school.

NO CEREMONY FOR SOME

Two Island schools won’t have a graduation this spring at all.

In Deblois, in western P.E.I., École Pierre-Chiasson doesn’t have any graduates this year. Staff at the school is looking on the bright side, saying while it’s unfortunate there aren’t any Grade 12 students, it’s not a bad year to forgo the community gathering.

The Mount Academy in Charlottetown hasn’t been able to plan a commencement for its 18 graduates either. More than half the students at the private athletic school are from out-of-province. They’ve been learning from home since March and can’t make it back to P.E.I. for a ceremony just yet.

GETTING CREATIVE

Some schools have opted for something out of the ordinary.

Colonel Gray Senior High in Charlottetown has invited its 292 graduates to the Brackley Drive-in for a special ceremony on June 23.

Parents and staff have planned a “graduation viewing” for students and guests at the drive-in.

The ceremony will include a video presentation, music from students and the valedictorian’s address. The event will be played on YouTube for a one-time viewing.

Instead of having the graduates cross the stage, they’ll be acknowledged with a slide show of grad photos.

Students will be able to pick up their prizes and diplomas at the school later in the week.

KEEPING IT SMALL

Katy MacKinnon is one of the graduates from École La-Belle-Cloche in Rollo Bay.

École La-Belle-Cloche in Rollo Bay, one of six French-language high schools, has just two graduates in the Class of 2020: Katy MacKinnon and Sarah-Jane Parnell.

The two have been in classes together since Grade 4 and are close pals.

“Getting work done is easy because the teaching is basically one-on-one,” said Katy.

The school has a banner up in the community to celebrate the two graduates.

“We have some good supporters,” said Katy.

The 2020 Belle-Cloche grad was planning on attending university in the fall, but her sights have changed – now she’s looking to the RCMP.

“The job is super cool,” she said.

The June 22 graduation ceremony will begin indoors with the graduates and their families then move outdoors for a community drive-by.

The short celebration will be live-streamed and followed by cupcakes.

“Afterwards, our graduates will plant each their tree (arbre de diplomé) which is a tradition that our community garden leader started a couple years ago,” said vice-principal Nathalie Leclerc-Little.

“The graduates) gave their 100 per cent every day and they were very involved in their school community throughout the year. Finishing the year like this was probably not their vision, but they did it and we are very proud of them.”