Good Evening,
This is teacher appreciation week and I hope everyone will join me in expressing our deep thanks for all that our teachers have done – and are doing – especially during this challenging time.
Tonight I want to share with you our plans for graduation. I know we are all sad and disappointed that the completion of our school year was derailed and that we have already lost so many treasured traditions, so I want you all to know what the high school team has designed to keep graduation the celebration it is intended to be, while living within the confines dictated by the current pandemic.
Current plans are to hold a two-part set of events to honor the incredible class of 2020. The first will be a virtual commencement scheduled for the same date and time as our original graduation ceremony. This virtual ceremony will air on a YouTube Premium Channel at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26.
To create a personalized experience, Pine Bush has partnered with Herff-Jones to create a special ceremony for our graduating seniors and their families. Seniors will be asked by Herff-Jones to send in a very brief video clip with a personalized message and a photograph of them wearing their cap and gown. The ceremony can be viewed on mobile devices, laptops, or desktop computers. Seniors will soon be contacted by Herff-Jones with directions on how this will be collected prior to the final celebration. A recording of the ceremony will be preserved on our website where it can be easily downloaded for any who want it.
The second part entails the actual presentation of diplomas and will occur the next morning. With the support of the Town of Crawford, Town of Wallkill, and New York State Police Departments, we will be able to stage a festive Parade of Graduates along Route 302 on Saturday, June 27, beginning at 10 a.m. Seniors will begin their journey from either CVMS or the CES parking lots. They will then be driven in this procession along the seven-mile parade route from Circleville to Pine Bush High School, where they will be announced as they receive their diplomas. Diplomas will be handed to the students through their car windows as they drive by their teachers and administrators for one final time. We’ll take a professional photo of each graduate receiving their diploma. We hope and expect that this will be a community-wide celebration of all the members of the resilient Class of 2020, after all they have endured and accomplished.
If things change, and we suddenly learn we can add some additional in-person activity, we will absolutely seize that opportunity, even if it occurs this summer. But since it appears that potential remains remote, we want to be sure we are able to do something truly special for our graduates in June.
More information will be forthcoming, and seniors should continue to check their student email and the senior twitter feed for updates and any further tweaks to our current plans.
I’ll have more information about fifth and eighth grade moving up ceremonies in a future update message.
Have a great evening,
Tim O. Mains, Pine Bush Superintendent