The lowdown on Wellesley High School’s graduation ceremony

Dear WHS Seniors:

We are excited that together with local health and safety officials, school administrators and the class of 2020 officers, we have made plans to celebrate the completion of your time in the Wellesley Public Schools on Friday, July 31st, at 9 am at Hunnewell Field. Please know for safety purposes, this is a different event than what we are normally able to do for our seniors. At its’ core, the event will honor the class of 2020’s desire to be together one last time in a meaningful way.  In order to have a successful day, we all must be mindful of the appropriate and necessary safety precautions that we have put in place.

These are the guidelines the class officers presented to the Town of Wellesley Board of health and all participants must respect these guidelines at all times.

• We are sorry we cannot allow any guests at this event in order to maintain appropriate health precautions for seniors and involved WHS staff.  Even the addition of 2 guests per graduate would quickly swell our numbers from 400 to over 1000.  We ask that friends and family also not congregate outside the field since that would create the type of health risk we are looking to avoid by limiting the participants.  Wellesley Media and The Swellesley Report will be recording the event and will have it downloaded on their station and their website in HD as soon as possible. There will also be photographers on the field as well. We are thankful for the support from the community.
• Any senior who feels sick or exhibits any COVID-related symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell) or has potentially been exposed to someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should not attend the event. Similarly, out of an abundance of caution, anyone who is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 due to underlying conditions should be discouraged from attending.
• In adherence to state guidelines, the ceremony will be brief and therefore cannot include some of our traditions from past WHS graduations. As a result, we will have an abbreviated music program and will present the Teacher of the Year award at a later time.
• No gum, food or beverages are allowed. Each student will have a bottle of water at their seat on the turf.
• We will stagger arrivals by house.
  • Bradford 7:45 am
  • Perrin 8:00 am
  • Phillips 8:15 am
• You will assemble on the sidewalk that goes around the school in alphabetical order with the assistance of WHS staff.
• All attendees must wear a mask or face covering at all times: before, during and after the celebration.
• All seniors should wear their red cap (with tassel) and gown. We do not have any extra caps, gowns or tassels.
• Sharp and pointed heels are not allowed  because they will puncture the track and turf. There are no exceptions to this rule.
• WHS staff members will be on hand to direct students to where they will assemble (socially distanced at six-foot intervals) for the procession onto the turf field.
• After entering the field, students will be seated on the turf, spaced out across the entire field facing the visitors’ bleachers.  The WPS staff who are in attendance will be seated on the visitors’ side.
• Students will retrieve their scroll from a table for a contactless interaction. No handshakes or other direct contact will occur.
• Due to safety concerns, we discourage the tossing of caps at the end of the ceremony.
• Seniors will be dismissed from the field by row by your class officers. It is essential that everyone follow direction to leave the field in an orderly fashion.
• No cigars, vapes or other smoking devices are allowed on the field or other school property at any time before, during or after the event.

After the event, all students should exit the field and leave school grounds as efficiently and quickly as possible. Many thanks to the WHS staff and custodial crew for their efforts to provide closure to the Class of 2020 of their WPS career.

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