Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/12/2021
SOUTH HADLEY– Graduation traditions for members of the senior class was heavily discussed at the South Hadley School Committee meeting on April 5.
The bulk of the meeting was focused on South Hadley High School seniors’ celebratory activities and the graduation itself. Typically, the formula is made up of the prom, the scholarship awards ceremony, a field trip for a day of recreation and fun, the baccalaureate student celebration of their tenure at the South Hadley schools, a banquet and the culminating event – graduation.
While presenting myriad options for each of these activities, Principal and Director of Guidance and Counseling Services Elizabeth Wood presented options for each event. Wood also outlined the intricacies of the approval processes for each item, listed the pros and cons, and highlighted what sometimes is an extensive approval process to get the event in motion.
Conversations at the meeting revolved around finding a way for students to safely celebrate the culmination of their grade school careers. Hanging over the discussions around venues, participation, costs and dates were the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. Wood shared regulations and noted what approvals were needed for events to take place.
The biggest fear amongst the committee was the possibility of a positive test result arising out of one of the events that could result in a quarantine of some or the entire student body taking place over graduation – the event that must be preserved and was the number one goal of the committee and the student body.
Each event had its own unique set of challenges. The prom, for example, had been changed from April 30 to May 29 because of a possible uptick in cases following the early April holidays that could cause quarantines of varying sizes. If there was a positive result arising from the prom the students and possibly all seniors could be in quarantine the entire senior week.
There are the restrictions at the proposed prom venue – only 95 participants are allowed, and the South Hadley senior class has 142 students. The proposed guidelines for prom are as follows: each student must pre-register for the event, and no guests would be allowed. There will be temperature checks upon entry to the building, and social distancing is a must. There would be assigned seating at the event, contact tracing, and mandatory mask wearing. Should students dance, they must try to be six feet apart.
Taking the state requirements, school guidelines and town ordinances into accord, the committee agreed there would be more exploration taking place regarding venue and restrictions.
Next the committee faced these concerns and more as they addressed the other senior week events. Student Representative Maddie Foley, a senior at South Hadley High School, shared her opinion on the matters of discussion multiple times, offering support and suggestions. This was Foley’s final committee meeting after serving two years.
Speaking for her fellow students, the priority for the class is graduation, followed by the prom, field, the baccalaureate and banquet, and scholarship night in that order. “We just want something,” said Foley.
By the end of the committee's discussion, the group came up with a list of ways to have senior events take place safely.
•Graduation will take place at the MassMutual Center. The expense will be extensive, and the committee explained they invite companies and others to help foot the bill through specified donations. The event will be live-streamed.
•Prom will happen, but it may be outdoors and it may have another date change to ensure seniors can attend without the possibility of endangering their participation in graduation.
•The Scholarship Award Ceremony will take place at the school with many caveats: one student can bring two parents and will be escorted to their “pod” seating in the auditorium one pod at a time after having pre-registered and having a temperature check at the door. Students will receive their awards on the stage, socially distanced. Each pod will be escorted one at a time out of the auditorium at the end. The event will be live-streamed.
•Baccalaureate Celebration and Banquet will take place at the school in the gymnasium. Attendees will be socially distanced, temperature checked and must pre-register.
•The Field Day for seniors will happen at the school and will be developed by faculty, staff and students.
As for Foley, she will move forward this fall and attend Fairfield University in Connecticut and the new Student Representative will be Kaley Godek. Foley noted that, “Over these past two years, you have helped me develop my leadership skills in so many ways. I have been able to listen to all the opinions of my peers and list all their accomplishments, which is something I wasn’t able to do before this experience. When I started as a junior, I found it difficult and intimidating to speak up, but all of you have made it easy and made me feel comfortable speaking my opinion with confidence knowing I was being heard and taken seriously.”
The School Committee then traded congratulations and well wishes to one another as some were leaving after the completion of their tenure.
Other agenda items for the committee was the welcoming back of the arts to the school and a seven-day “Return to Play” program put in place to bring students who had tested positive for COVID-19 back into sports.
Finally, there was discussion of the establishment of a special School Committee alumni library shelf, where members who were transitioning out of the committee would donate a book that means something to them in the hope of inspiring others – student representative alumni included.