CHS graduation canceled due to new state restrictions
By Jay Turner
Seniors line up to receive their diplomas at the June 6 conferral event. (Mike Tureski photo)
Canton High School leaders delivered some disappointing news to the Class of 2020 on Tuesday, informing families in a letter that both the August 1 graduation ceremony and a potential senior prom would not be happening as previously hoped.
According to former Principal Derek Folan, now assistant superintendent, and new Principal Dave Turcotte, the decision to cancel both events was based on a review of the commonwealth’s Phase 3 reopening guidelines, which limits outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 100 people in a single, enclosed outdoor space.
Folan and Turcotte said they were advised that the limit on gatherings was unlikely to change during the summer, and with a graduating class of approximately 245 students, a single outdoor event involving all students would not be permissible.
As noted in the letter to families, “This 100-person limitation would require our high school to have multiple small, in-person ceremonies, which would prohibit CHS from achieving its goal of gathering as a full community. As a result, the August 1 graduation ceremony and the senior prom are canceled. While this decision is the most prudent course of action, we recognize this news may be disappointing, and we wish circumstances were different.”
While guidelines issued previously this summer by the state Department of Public Health and released through the commissioner of education had specifically allowed for outdoor graduation ceremonies after July 19, they did not specify a capacity limit — other than to stipulate that attendance would be limited to immediate family members only. However, circumstances changed with the governor’s revised gatherings order, which took effect July 6 and applies to all “community events, civic events, sporting events, concerts and conventions.”
Despite the cancelation of the August 1 ceremony, Folan and Turcotte said the CHS community was happy to have provided the graduates with an opportunity to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas as part of a conferral ceremony that took place in front of the school on June 6. The staff also organized a car parade around town for the seniors on the weekend prior, and both events were well received by students and their families.
Folan and Turcotte said the school will “continue to recognize and honor the Class of 2020 in a few different ways” throughout the remainder of the summer.
“The class valedictorian, salutatorians, and president will record their speeches, and those remarks will be broadcast online and/or on television,” they stated. “In addition, each graduate will receive a package of keepsakes, including a graduation program as well as a photograph of the graduate receiving their diploma at the June conferment ceremony.”
Meanwhile, the Canton Citizen will proceed with its plans to publish its graduation issue on August 6 as previously announced. This special edition, published annually in celebration of the CHS senior class, will feature then and now photos, future plans and scholarship lists, and excerpts from the student speeches.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=68525
Posted by Jay Turner
on Jul 17 2020. Filed under News, Schools.
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