A typical high school graduation ceremony may consist of a full-spread banquet at a venue that鈥檚 been decorated to the nines, as well as a grad march and a ceremony in which everyone collects their diplomas and poses for a litany of photos by photographers, parents and all manner of relatives.听 Then there may be a dance to close out the evening and cap the occasion.
But the standard formula for celebrating graduation flew out the window as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America.听 With that in mind, and as June crept closer, it鈥檚 forced many schools to get creative in organizing something 鈥� anything, really 鈥� to help make exiting Grade 12 students feel special as they get set to join the real world.
That鈥檚 precisely what the village of Dinsmore did last weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, June 13, staff and faculty from Dinsmore Composite School showed their ingenuity and came up with a rather unique way to mark graduation for the DCS Class of 2020:听 Cole Buchanan, Will Norris, Jesse Thorpe, and Dailey Wollen.听 First, teachers and administrative staff piled into vehicles and made their way to each student鈥檚 home, holding outdoor mini ceremonies and speaking specifically on each student鈥檚 impact in the halls and classrooms of DCS, as well as gifting parents with official portraits of their graduating child.
But the fun didn鈥檛 stop with the PPE at each grad鈥檚 home, or 鈥淧ersonal Prom Extravaganza鈥� as coined by teacher Karen Jones, because it was time for everyone to get ready and put these graduating students on display for the whole community to salute.
That鈥檚 exactly what happened later in the afternoon when a parade made its way all around the community of Dinsmore, with each grad prominently featured either in a convertible (Norris, Wollen), the back of a roaring pickup truck (Buchanan), or even leading the charge on a John Deere tractor (Thorpe).听 The procession weaved its way around the entire village, allowing residents to watch directly from the front yards of their homes and give the grads their best wishes in person, though from a respectable distance, of course.
The school also posted a YouTube video of its 鈥榁irtual Academic Awards鈥�, with Norris, Thorpe and Wollen taking the Grade 12 Honor Roll achievements.听 As well, Norris took the top honors in the Math/Science Academic Award, while Wollen was the recipient of the Humanities Award, which awards the student with the highest average in English and History/Social Studies.听 As well, Thorpe was awarded with the Highest Academic Average.
The school鈥檚 graduation theme was, perhaps appropriately, 鈥榃hen Life Gives You Lemons鈥︹��, and judging from the successful and heart-warming day that teachers, staff and the community gave the four departing DCS students, everyone most definitely turned a negative situation into a much more positive one and made the proverbial 鈥榣emonade鈥�.
For more photos, see below.听 For video footage of Dinsmore鈥檚 grad celebrations, visit The Outlook on Facebook at FB.com/TheOutlook麻豆传媒
