Good Day Monticello High School Seniors and Families!
This is an update regarding our preparation for graduation to be held on Sunday, June 26, 2022.
Graduation Locations
The primary goal is to have an outdoor ceremony, beginning at 10:00 am, outside the middle school gymnasium. Graduates would report to the middle school gymnasium at 9:00 am, and no later than 9:30 am, to prepare for the ceremony. Guests may start arriving at 8:30 am. We anticipate the outdoor graduation ceremony to take approximately 2 ½ hours to complete.
The alternate graduation location is indoors, beginning at 11:00 am, in the high school auditorium. An indoor graduation would result in three separate ceremonies, assigned alphabetically. Graduates would report the high school gymnasium at 10:00 am, and no later than 10:30 am, to prepare for the ceremony. Guests may start arriving at 9:45 am. We anticipate the indoor graduation ceremony to take approximately 75 minutes to complete.
COVID-19 Protocols
- When indoors, we will enact physical distancing measures between each graduate’s group of guests.
- Masks are recommended, but not required.
- Graduates or guests who test positive for COVID and are at 5 days or less from their positive test result or symptoms, cannot attend. This is the isolation period as directed by the New York State Department of Health, Sullivan County Department of Public Health, and the Monticello Central School District’s mitigation protocols.
- Graduates or guests who have tested positive for COVID and are on day 6 through 10 of their positive test results or symptoms, may attend if they are fever-free for 72 hours without fever-reducing medication and must remain masked while indoors.
Decision-Making Process to Determine an Outdoor or Indoor Ceremony
If the weather forecast is clear of stormy weather (high winds, rain, lightning), then the outdoor ceremony will take place as planned.
If the weather forecast calls for stormy weather (high winds, rain, lightning), then a determination will be made whether to delay the outdoor ceremony until later in the day, or move to the indoor ceremony. The following circumstances will be considered.
- If the weather forecast shows stormy weather for the morning, but clearing in the afternoon, then we will delay the outdoor ceremony if the temperature and heat index indicate it will be safe to do so. While the weather may clear, extreme heat would also be detrimental to the graduation ceremony.
- The start time of the delayed outdoor ceremony will be determined relative to the forecast, but would start no later than 3:00 pm to finish by approximately 5:30 pm.
- If the weather forecast shows stormy weather for the morning, and into the afternoon, or if the temperature or heat index would be detrimental to the ceremony, then we will move to the indoor ceremony.
Whether we need to delay the outdoor ceremony, or move to the indoor ceremony, the graduation ceremonies are expected to be completed no later than 5:30 pm.
The decision regarding location and timing will be made no later than 5:30 am on the date of graduation and communicated to students and families through our ParentSquare notification system.
Graduation Tickets
All persons, regardless of age, must be accounted for using a ticket. Students will be given the tickets at graduation rehearsal and are responsible for the distribution of those tickets. The district is not responsible for facilitating the distribution of tickets within family groups.
For the outdoor ceremony, each graduate will be provided with 6 tickets for attendees.
For the indoor ceremony, our auditorium can accommodate groups of 5 or 6 in limited amounts. Groups of 5 tickets will be seated closer to the stage. Groups of 6 will be seated further from the stage at the sides of the auditorium. Graduates will be asked to complete a survey to select either 5 tickets or 6 tickets for their respective graduation ceremony. Depending on the distribution of selections, and available seating, we will distribute groups accordingly. If we have more requests for 6 tickets than available space, we will conduct a lottery to select which graduates will receive 6 tickets and which will receive 5. Graduates will be notified by June 17, 2022.
Rationale for offering groups of 5 or 6 tickets: We want to accommodate as many attendees as possible for the indoor ceremony. For many school districts, when graduation ceremonies need to be moved indoors, graduates will receive 2 or 3 tickets. If we kept the number of tickets the same for everyone, we would need to revert to the lowest number, which would be 5, but we felt that we would like to maximize the number of guests based on our seating capacity. There is a natural trade-off here, where, with 5 tickets, guests would sit closer to the stage and with 6 tickets, they have an additional guest but would sit further back.
Family and friends who are attending graduation must attend the ceremony assigned to their graduate. Accommodations may not be made the day of if a graduate misses their assigned ceremony.
Indoor Graduation & Graduate Participation
The graduation committee appreciates that our graduates would like to have a graduation where they are all together, this is why we are prioritizing an outdoor graduation. However, we never know what mother nature has in store on graduation day. Given the recommendation of the Sullivan County Department of Public Health’s recommendation for physical distancing at the indoor graduation ceremony, we are unable to hold one ceremony. Holding one ceremony would have also limited the number of tickets even further. With that said, we are exploring options which would allow graduates to participate in each ceremony to celebrate and be together with their fellow graduates.
If graduates want to participate in each ceremony, they will be participating in the ceremony, except for receiving their diploma, each time. They will only receive their diploma at their designated ceremony. Graduates who choose to do this will adhere to the expectations of graduates at each ceremony.
If graduates want to attend, but not participate, in a ceremony other than the one they are assigned, then they will need to have a ticket and will sit in the audience as an attendee.
|
Indoor Graduation #1 |
Indoor Graduation #2 |
Indoor Graduation #3 |
|
11:00 am |
1:15 pm |
3:30 pm |
|
Last Names: A à Ga |
Last Names: Gh à Pa |
Last Names: Pe à Z |
Graduation Caps & Gowns
Caps and Gowns will be distributed the morning of June 14th prior to the Panther Parade of Pride. If the student has chosen to borrow their gown, there is no cost, and they will return their gown at the conclusion of the graduation ceremony (the gown is the only item they will return. The tassel, cap and sash are all theirs free of charge). If the student has chosen to purchase their gown, the cost is $55 and that will need to be paid when they pick up their gown on June 14th.