Last Wednesday, superintendent, Adam Steele, and principal Bill Hagen, set up an online meeting with only the seniors to discuss how the end of their senior year would look. With about 80 plus kids, the group agreed on an idea of how to celebrate the most important event of senior year, graduation.

   With all plans still in the works, Adam Steele suggested to combine our plans with the Independence Day celebration in the Amherst Town Village. The idea would consist of the seniors walking together in the annual parade, and later that night have a graduation. However, plans are still being made, and this is not set in stone, but could be likely to happen. If the parade cannot happen on time of July 4, it will be moved to August 1 and the same idea will be conducted on this day. 

   However, the question is if the senior students want to celebrate their graduation on the same day as a big event, The Fourth of July. There was a mix of different responses after the suggestion. Some students thought that since they were both such big events, why not celebrate them separately? A senior said,  “Fourth of July is my favorite holiday, people go out of town.” Others thought it would be a great idea. Clare Woodford, a senior, said “I think that as a senior, any last hoorah would fulfill our lost graduation. The Fourth of July would be an amazing time to celebrate all the seniors and prove that 2020 is a special year.” Another student from the senior class said, “It is a great opportunity for the staff and students to be recognized by the town and come together to celebrate since their year was cut short.” On the zoom call, the majority thought that it would be something they would want to do.

    As well as graduation, the students of the senior class also wanted to keep the other important events that come with the last year of high school, such as prom, yearbook signing, senior awards, senior trip, the spring musical, and more. Adam Steele had the senior students answer survey questions over the Zoom call about the dates they could no longer celebrate after, and how long we wanted to try and have these big events. Although it is known the seniors want to have all their important last high school celebrations, it is unknown whether it will happen or not. Updates will come with time and when the Governor speaks out again about our quarantine situation.

Images taken by Emma Williams