PCS graduation ceremony Aug. 1
Perkins County High School seniors will finally get to celebrate their graduation with a real ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Pritchett Gym, beginning at 1 p.m.
In May, the school put together an impressive digital video presentation recognizing the seniors on their graduation.
School administrators set Saturday’s date in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping things would be clear to hold an in-person graduation ceremony.
From mid-March on, PCS and schools around the state and nation shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak.
High School Principal Ben Jones outlined the steps the school is taking for graduation during the board’s regular meeting Monday night.
Jones said social distancing will be keenly observed and it will be a ticket-only event. This allows the school to stay within the allowable capacity of the gym under Phase 3 health measures now in effect.
The health measures require group sizes to be no more than eight people.
Jones said they have chairs set up on the gym floor, in pods of eight chairs, with pods at least six feet apart.
Seniors will be sitting in their own pods as well.
In the bleachers, Jones said areas will be set up for groups up to eight, at least six feet apart, with three empty rows between the groups.
Seniors will be allotted tickets for family members who will be assigned to a specific pod.
Jones said they will track who is sitting in each pod. That way, if someone within a pod contracts COVID-19, they can quickly identify the other people for contact tracing purposes.
That has become more of a concern with the recent outbreak of coronavirus cases in Perkins County.
Jones said there will be a limited amount of tickets available to the public Thursday. People should call the school so they can assign them to a seating pod.
This year’s graduating class includes 25 seniors. Jones said some of the graduates had conflicts with the date and won’t be participating in the ceremony.
School reopening guidelines reviewed
Board members heard an extensive report from Superintendent Phillip Piquet on the guidelines and preparations that are being made for bringing students back to the classroom next month.
More details will appear in next week’s issue.