If this was a typical school year, parents, family members and friends would be crowding into school gymnasiums to watch graduating Grade 12 students take that walk across the stage to receive their high school diplomas.
The pandemic and the restrictions on crowd sizes it has necessitated is keeping those rows of chairs empty but it won’t wipe out the memories being made this month for the class of 2020 in School District 57 schools.
The school district has hired a local audio-visual production company to digitally record the graduation ceremonies and produce professional-quality videos as keepsakes. Seven of the nine district high schools will see the results on the grad videos recorded this week at Vanier Hall by Russell Audio-Visual.
“It’s like a movie premiere,” said SD 57 deputy superintendent Cindy Heitman. “We heard from families that it’s really important they get to celebrate with their child so this is a way they get to see things for the first time with their child.
“They’ll get marshalled in, physically distanced, get a cue, walk across the stage, pick up their certificate, move the tassel on their cap, and walk off. That’s all they will know.”
The videos will be available online for initial releases between June 19 and 29.
“The dates have been organized in collaboration with the parents so they can put together watch parties and celebrations,” Heitman said. “They’ll get to have that experience together. Kids from different families can also be communicating and celebrating together, virtually.”
Participating schools include the Centre for Learning Alternatives, Prince George Secondary, D.P. Todd Secondary, College Heights Secondary, Duchess Park Secondary, Kelly Road Secondary and Mackenzie Secondary. The video company will visit Mackenzie for the grad ceremony there on June 13.
Russell Audio-Visual will add to the final product valedictory speeches, announcement of student awards and bursaries, in some cases, student performances. School principal and graduation committees will have freedom to add their ideas to the videos.
“We understand the importance our graduates place on crossing the stage in their caps and gowns,” said SD 57 superintendent Anita Richardson.
“We also acknowledge that this is an extremely difficult time for our grads and their families. This is not the way our graduates wanted or expected to celebrate the culmination of their time in the public school system. Our celebrations will look a little different but we continue to hope there will be a day we can celebrate in person.”
The grad classes at Valemount Secondary and McBride Secondary are small enough that crowd sizes won’t exceed the 50–person limit on public gatherings imposed by the provincial health office. Valemount had its live-streamed ceremony last Friday and McBride’s is scheduled for June 20.
