Nontraditional ceremony set

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editors
 
Walking the stage to receive a coveted diploma will be a lot different for this year’s Newcastle High School graduating class. Forty-seven seniors, who had their last year unceremoniously cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, will get a graduation ceremony on the original date of Sunday, May 17, despite the health restrictions on public gatherings. 
Staff and students from the high school came together to devise a plan that would see seniors walking across a stage to get their diplomas. But the stage will not be Crouch auditorium. They also will not be joining their fellow classmates in one last celebration. Based on the results of a survey  by the Newc High News, the school’s paper, the Weston County School District No. 1 board of trustees decided to hold the ceremony in the parking lot of the school. 
Superintendent Brad LaCroix told the board during a special meeting on May 6 that the stage would be a flatbed trailer. The graduates and their families will remain in their cars. The ceremony will still include a speaker and speeches from the five graduating valedictorians. 
“The principal and the board chair (Tina Chick) will be on the trailer. Students and their families will exit their cars when their time comes and approach the stage. This will maintain that there are not more than 10 people out at a time,” LaCroix said. “KASL is willing to announce the ceremony, and we have talked to the city about doing a car parade/celebration afterwards.” 
A majority of the seniors and their families, according to survey results presented by Newc High News staffer Markie Whitney, supported the idea of a nontraditional ceremony and were almost anticipating that would be the only option. School trustee Dana Gordon said that her understanding was that a traditional ceremony was completely off the table, according to the state, unless the school waited until the pandemic situation  abated. 
After the discussion, the board approved the alternative graduation plan and slated the idea for approval by the state over the weekend.