Today is graduation for Washington High School, Miami Trace High School and Fayette Christian seniors—congratulations graduates.
As a reminder, all three schools will be starting their graduation ceremonies at 7 p.m. this evening.
The Fayette Christian School ceremony will be located in their gymnasium.
In his letter to his graduates, Fayette Christian Principal Larry Fitch wrote, “I trust that as you leave Fayette Christian you will do so with a head full of knowledge, a heart full of devotion to God, and a life full of memories. Although graduation is in one sense an ending, it is actually a beginning. I pray that God will richly bless you as you go forward and seek His plan for your life.”
The Washington High School (WHS) ceremony is planned to take place at Gardner Park with doors opening for seating at 6 p.m. Both sides of the bleachers will be open to assist with social distancing.
“Right now, the weather looks great. So, we are preparing for outside graduation,” said WHS Principal Tracy Rose.
For the outside ceremony, there will be no tickets required for entry and unlimited guests will be allowed. Masks and sanitizer will be available.
“We will do as much as we possibly can to make sure we safeguard the public and students that will be graduating,” said Rose.
The only way the ceremony will change from Gardner Park to the WHS gymnasium is if there is a change in weather expectation prior to graduation rehearsal, which is planned for 11 a.m. Friday.
If a change in venue does occur, graduating students will receive four tickets each during rehearsal as guests will have to be limited for an inside venue. Tickets have already been printed and the gymnasium is ready to go just in case, according to Rose.
Gardner Park is the Football field located on Circle Avenue in Washington Court House.
The Miami Trace High School (MTHS) ceremony is planned to be outside on the new football field on the Miami Trace campus.
As previously reported, both sides of the bleachers will be open to assist with social distancing. With an outside ceremony, there will be no restrictions on numbers of attendees. Families are encouraged to sit together.
If the ceremony has to be moved inside due to adverse weather, there is a ticket-system in place as guests will have to be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions and the size of the gymnasium.
If the ceremony must be moved inside, there are two different types of tickets that will be made available to families. A gold ticket holder will be permitted into the gym on graduation day if the ceremony is moved inside. A black ticket holder will be permitted into the building’s common area or the Quali-Tee Design Performing Arts Theater to view a live stream of the event if the ceremony is moved inside. The tickets will not be needed if the ceremony continues outside as planned.
Regardless of an inside or outside ceremony, gates/doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with no reserve seating.
This year is MTHS Principal Bryan Sheets’ first graduation as principal.
“This is the highlight of the school year and this is what it is all about,” Sheets said for a prior article. “We always want to make sure everything is done correctly, and we want to put on the best ceremony we can provide for the students, parents and guests. It means a lot to these individuals and especially last year being different, we are trying to get it back to as close to normal as possible. I know how special it is to the families and graduates so we are just trying to make sure it is done right and everything is in place.”
Reach journalist Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.
