The Alliance High School class of 2020 is set to receive recognition on Saturday with a graduation ceremony that will be as close to traditional as possible.
Superintendent Dr. Troy Unzicker said the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the stadium. In order to follow social distancing guidelines set by Governor Pete Ricketts in his Directed Health Measures, the audience will be limited.
“Each senior is going to receive eight tickets,” said Unzicker. “So, each senior will be able to invite eight people into the ceremony. Obviously, we have got to try to maintain social distancing. Those eight ticketed people can sit together if they want. If they all sit in row one, then there has to be a six-foot space before the next family sits, and there has to be six foot behind them too.”
Unzicker noted practice for the ceremony is set to take place on Friday, where they will provide the seniors their tickets, and explain the guidelines. He said officials will plan to mark the seating in the stadium to help people follow the social distancing guidelines.
“We have to keep it within 75 percent of our occupancy,” Unzicker said.
Some seniors have already received their diplomas, Unzicker said, as they have joined the military or are already attending school. Even with students receiving their diplomas early, he expects a large number of students to be at the ceremony.
“We won’t have quite everybody there, but I still think we’ll have at least 100 seniors there,” said Unzicker. “We’re going to have them sit on the football field. We’re not going to use the stage this year, which goes back to coronavirus. We’ll have a table with the diplomas and go from there.”
The band will not be performing at the ceremony, so as to comply with the Directed Health Measures and to allow for more people to attend the ceremony. The ceremony will feature recorded music, however, Unzicker said.
“We’re going to have it as close to traditional as we can,” Unzicker said. “But, we are simplifying it to comply with the guidelines.”
Following the ceremony, people will not be allowed to congregate on the track, in order to maintain social distancing. The seniors will be led to the practice field, where they can meet with people in attendance.
“Usually when it’s over, everybody huddles up on the track, but we’re going to walk the graduates out and ask them to meet their families on the practice fields where there’s more room for people to spread out. We’ll do our best to do our part on the social distancing.”