Due to the date Memorial Day falls upon, graduation for seniors will be held on Sunday, May 22.
While many may question the date change, officials say that it was only necessary to keep up with the altering Memorial Day date.
“We usually have graduation the weekend before Memorial Day, and the luck of the calendar this year is that Memorial Day is very late and the weekend before that is our graduation,” principal James Roscoe said. “The date may seem like we pushed it a week late, but we strive to have graduation the weekend prior to Memorial Day. So, unfortunate or fortunate, seniors have the ability to stay with everybody else.”
The decision of the graduation date is always made two years in advance to ensure adequate planning for building in emergency and other days to take off.
“There is a calendar committee that consists of district representatives, teachers, and administration that makes a decision that is passed by the Board,” said associate principal Jeff Schagrin.
Teachers are informed of the graduation date around a year ahead, which allows them to plan their curriculum around the seniors’ dismissal.
“From a teacher’s standpoint, it actually feels like you have more time to work with the students,” English teacher Tom New said. “Most of the time with seniors, we try to have more of a large scale project so it gives us more time to work through that rather than feeling rushed.”
Although many seniors have negative feelings about their prolonged school year, many are also enjoying the time they have left of high school.
“There might have been an attempted senioritis, but I put a stop to that,” New said. “They’re working hard; they’re hanging in there.”