With Pomp and Circumstance

After several months of graduation plans up in the air, the PCM School District announced an in-person ceremony will take place June 28. At 1 p.m., graduates, along with select guests, will gather at the high school football field to send off the Class of 2020 after a year they will never forget.

“The district is excited to announce there will be an in-person graduation ceremony,” high school principal Kristen Souza said. “We are excited to honor and celebrate the Class of 2020 during these unprecedented times.”

Several guidelines have been put in place to follow recommendations by the governor and Jasper County Health Department. The details for the ceremony and guidelines include:

• Graduation practice will be at 1 p.m. June 19 at the football field. All students wanting to participate in the graduation ceremony must attend and are expected to wear face masks. Any student that does not have their own will be provided one. Students are asked to meet at the concession stands by the field. Social distancing is required.

• All students will be allowed two tickets for family members to attend the graduation ceremony. If a student feels they must have more than two tickets due to family circumstances, email Souza and place your request. The principal’s decision will be final. The district is trying to limit the number of people in attendance and extra tickets are to be requested if absolutely necessary.

• Those attending are asked to RSVP by June 19. An usher will be on hand to check guests in and show them to their seats. Any family members in attendance will be seated together and will be at least six feet apart from other households. Guests are asked to enter the stadium at the entrance by the new ticket booth.

• All spectators are expected to remain in their seats. No one is permitted to get up during the ceremony to take pictures. The district will have a photographer that day and photos can be ordered afterward. Guests are asked to not congregate with other households. Anyone not abiding by these expectations will be asked to leave.

• Students will be provided masks for the graduation ceremony and asked to keep them on while they are seated. They are permitted to take them off before they go up on stage but then must put them back on after they walk across the stage.

The ceremony will be live-streamed for any family members who will not be in attendance.

If there is rain on the date of graduation, the district will host a virtual graduation with all the same elements of an in-person graduation ceremony. It will be sent out through Facebook and YouTube. Students will then be given the chance to walk across the Middle School Auditorium Stage with nine family members in attendance to receive their diploma. A photographer will be on site in this instance, as well.

The district also announced prom has been canceled for this year.

“The health and safety of our students is of the utmost importance, which is why this decision was not made lightly,” Souza said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com