April 27th, 2021

Dear Grade 12 graduating students and families,

We want to provide you with an update on graduation celebrations and the virtual Commencement ceremonies scheduled for June 2021.

After much deliberation and thoughtful consideration, and ultimately due to the impact of the current Emergency Stay-at-Home order, the virtual Commencement ceremonies scheduled for Thursday, June 24, 2021, will be postponed to Fall 2021. At this time, we don’t know what fall Commencement ceremonies will look like, but please know we will provide an update as soon as we have information.

Planning for both in-person and virtual events has been very challenging. The current health and safety directives impact our graduates’ and staff’s ability to come together to plan and our vendors’ capability to deliver traditional components of a formal, virtual Commencement ceremony.

However, celebrating and recognizing this milestone is still our priority.

Each secondary school is currently working hard to make sure their graduates will be celebrated before their departure in June. Student voice and participation continue to be vital pieces of this process.

Secondary School graduation events will occur at each of their respective sites in June 2021 and will strictly adhere to Public Health COVID-19 protocols. We understand that on-site celebrations cannot replace traditional graduation celebrations or Commencement ceremonies. However, with the innovative and creative thinking of students and staff, we are confident that our schools will offer a memorable experience for our students and their families, and will do so safely.

Our secondary schools should be sharing information shortly about their plans for celebrating their graduates.

Please know we did not make these decisions lightly. We want our graduates to feel special and celebrated to the very best of our ability in this very challenging year.