According to Choctaw County High School Principal Amber Vowell, plans have been finalized for the Class of 2020 Graduation Commencement Ceremony.
The commencement will be held on Thursday, May 21, at 6 p.m. which is the original date.
Vowell pointed out that the plans are not for a traditional ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the state, limiting the number of people who can assemble in one place at a time.
Vowell stated that, in the event that all restrictions are lifted, the seniors will have a traditional ceremony.
She said, “I can’t predict the future, however, we had to come up with a plan that would be a good plan that would give these seniors a chance to celebrate in a way that, even though it’s not traditional, it would honor them.”
She added that it would also give their families a chance to see their seniors walk across a stage.
The commencement service is to be held in front of the new Choctaw County High School building, a building that due to the virus outbreak has never been occupied by students.
A stage will be erected in front of the building and seniors will be able to walk, and have their names called as they receive their diplomas.
Scholarships, honors and awards will be announced also.
However, rather than being seated in an auditorium, the students will be in a vehicle of their choosing.
The students will meet at a location off campus (TBA) which will allow the students to line up alphabetically with the Valedictorian and Salutatorian at the start of the line.
One vehicle is allowed per family. A ticket will be provided for the graduates to allow the vehicle in the parade/line-up. They may use a car, truck, SUV, or van. However, no one, with the exception of the graduate will be allowed out of the vehicle before, during or after the graduation ceremony.
Also, no one will be allowed to ride in the back of a truck.
After the line-up is complete, at approximately 5:45 p.m., the seniors will be escorted by law enforcement down Main Street to the high school to line up in front of the newly constructed building on the main campus.
The parade of vehicles will wrap around the block of the CCHS campus while the ceremony takes place. Local law enforcement as well as CCHS faculty and staff will be along the route to help maneuver the traffic.
The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Each graduate will pull up in front of the new building, walk the stairs to receive his/her diploma cover while the accomplishments/honors of each graduate are announced. After the graduate completes the walk, the student will take a picture to commemorate the event. The student will rejoin his/her family and drive around to get back in the line-up. After each graduate is announced, the Valedictorian and Salutatorian will address the graduates. Final remarks will be made and the graduates will be asked to exit the vehicle once more while in line, to move their tassels and throw their caps.
The ceremony will be lived streamed on Facebook and broadcast on WFCA Radio.
