“Think you can do it? You are the first class to graduate without a walk-through.”
And with that, Robbinsville High School Principal David Matheson gave the Class of 2020 its final charges, a mere 90 minutes before an overdue commencement ceremony at Modeal Walsh Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Leading up to – and even the day of – graduation, concerned citizens questioned how Robbinsville High would be able to hold a somewhat normal ceremony in the somewhat abnormal world we are living in. Even a few keyboard warriors took exception to a photo on our Facebook page – its only purpose to remind followers to watch our live-stream of the ceremony – as it depicted the class assembled in the bleachers and not socially distancing nor wearing masks for its class photo.
Egads!
Lost in translation was the fact that seniors stayed in the parking lot until being summoned for the photo, only taking their masks off milliseconds before the photographer yelled, “Cheese!”
Putting the detractors aside, once Matheson ran students through perhaps the most reserved practice of graduation in Graham County history, the graduates dispersed to the Robbinsville Elementary School gymnasium until the time came for their big entrance.
After all, they were the stars of the show, the reason why hundreds of family members and friends turned out for what should be the biggest day of a K-12 student’s life – graduation.
Yes, temperatures were checked. Not one entrant tested anywhere near 100.4 degrees, which was the cutoff for how hot you could be on a brutally hot July morning.
The ceremony itself featured several references to the worldwide pandemic, but focused more on giving the seniors what they deserved – a proper send-off. Tears were shed. Laughs were shared. Selfies were taken with Matheson. Random shrieks of joy for graduates would echo throughout the stadium, keeping everyone off guard.
Suffice to say, the morning went off without a hitch.
Surrounding counties had to modify their graduation plans, forced to move to parking lots, empty gyms and stadiums, and even a socially distanced parade. Proms were canceled (or in one case, organized independently and held in Georgia), while awards nights were reduced to video archives, rather than heavily attended events.
The Graham County Board of Education made the best of a bad situation. It took more than two hours of closed-session deliberation on June 30 before deciding to have the ceremony. Obviously, it was not a decision reached easily.
I personally applaud the board for going ahead with the closest thing – regionally – we have seen to a “normal” graduation. And for that matter, the countless faculty members that made sure things ran smoothly.
Here’s to hoping that whatever school plan is chosen for the 2020-21 year, it can continue a path to the new “normal.”
Kevin Hensley is the publisher/editor of The Graham Star. He can be reached by phone, 479-3383; email, editor@grahamstar.com or on Twitter @KevinHensleyCNI.