Mama Diaries

Friday, May 29, 2020

Graduation: COVID Style



My daughter has graduated! And as fate would have it, she graduated during the COVID pandemic.

All things considered, I think it was a very nice graduation ceremony. The first part involved a parade. Seniors decorated their cars with balloons, posters, and paint and drove down the street to the school.



Onlookers cheered with noisemakers, posters, and more balloons. After stopping at Point A to check-in, the Seniors pulled around to the front of the school to receive their diploma. And of course, due to COVID safety regulations, the volunteers who distributed the diplomas all wore masks.


I was concerned there'd be some fender-benders. Put together a bunch of crazy high school Seniors and make them drive on the left side of the road -what could go wrong? But somehow it all seemed to work out.


The following day there was an online graduation ceremony. We sat there in the comfort of our home as the principal, Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and district supervisors gave their speeches. And then we watched as each student in the graduating class was announced and the pictures of about 400 Seniors went across the screen. The whole thing took about an hour.

It was kind of nice not having to go to downtown Atlanta, fight the traffic, and deal with the crowds. They should do it like this every year!

Have any of you had graduating kids in your family? If so, what was the ceremony like?

31 comments:

  1. Graduation is a memorable time, but I have to say your daughter had a graduation that she definitely will never forget. Sounds like it was a pretty cool event. Happy graduation to her!!

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  2. You said it first, so I won't feel bad about repeating it: yeah, maybe they should do it like this every year. Graduation ceremonies for our kids were all kinda deadly. Waaaaaay long, and to make it worse, the boys had theirs at an outdoor venue, and it was hotter than hades... but with more bugs. At least, our daughter's was held at the Gwinnett Civic Center, so we were indoors, but the crowd and traffic were maddening. The kids couldn't wait for it all to be over with, and frankly, neither could we. (Is that an awful thing to say?)

    Anyhow, congrats to your daughter. (and YOU!) It's a safe bet that she will never forget the experience. I hope she wasn't disappointed to miss out on the usual pomp.

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  3. That actually sounds like a better way to do it. Although you're right, surprised there were no car incidents. Congratulations to your daughter!

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  4. Hi, Sherry!

    Congratulations to your daughter on reaching this important milestone in her life. I'm sorry the traditional graduation ceremony needed to be abandoned this year, but it seems like few people minded it. Perhaps most thought it was more fun doing it this way. If enough people preferred this type of ceremony, maybe it will become the new tradition with or without the threat of the virus hanging over them.

    I wish your daughter all the best as she begins a new chapter of her life. Have a safe and peaceful weekend, dear friend Sherry!

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    Replies
    1. I think they should seriously consider doing it this way. Who needs all that pomp and circumstance?

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  5. Congratulations to your daughter Sherry, not the best of times but pleased she has graduated. Good luck to her for the future,

    Yvonne.

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  6. Congrats to her and the entire class! Covid has changed a lot of things. :)

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  7. Congrats to your daughter. She'll definitely remember this one.

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  8. Congratulations to your daughter and I'm glad they were able to make it special.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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  9. wow, what a memorable graduation it is!

    I hope it will be held in Indonesia
    congratulation on your daughter achievement
    good luck!

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    Replies
    1. One more chapter done in her life. On to college!

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  10. That will sure be one to remember, and sounds better than all the waiting and standing and sweating any day. Congrats to her.

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    1. I'm really glad we didn't have to go downtown for the ceremony!

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  11. Congratulations to your daughter ...so memorable graduation.

    Have a wonderful weekend

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  12. The private high school across the street from us had just such a graduation. The line of cars (ninety of them) on the narrow access road made the local PD fly police helicopters above and sirens blared... Did someone forget to tell them this will happen? I really felt for those seniors until I realized they had a unique graduation they can tell about, one for the ages.
    Congratulations to your daughter!

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  13. Congratulations to your daughter. Despite this being a very different kind of graduation it sounds like it worked out really well. That you didn't have to contend with the traffic and crowds sounds like a winner to me.

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    1. I thought it worked out well. Probably better than the original plan.

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  14. This year we have lots of different style graduations around here. At first people were upset- but it turns out that a lot of people like them better than our regular graduations. :) I was thinking that in the future kids are going to want all these special parades and unique graduations instead. Glad your daughter had a great graduation and you got to skip the traffic.
    ~Jess

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