Proms postponed
Grade 12 students hopeful that graduation celebrations can be rescheduled
There are few milestones in a young person’s life that elicit more excitement and anticipation than high school graduation.
It’s one of the most thrilling moments for teenagers — when a young woman can dress up in a glamourous dress and feel like a princess, while a young man gets to don a dapper suit and everyone celebrates the end of grade school with friends and classmates.
But the global COVID-19 pandemic spoiled the party for 2020 grads, turning it into what has been pegged a sad grad. With schools closed, proms and graduation ceremonies for schools across the province were cancelled, leaving many disappointed.
“It’s almost like you’re writing a book for 12 years and you’re just on that last chapter and someone just steals it from you and you can’t finish it,” said Blake Pope, 17, a Grade 12 student at Pasadena Academy in Pasadena.
When school was closed, Pope, president of the school’s student council, was left with a feeling of disbelief.
He feels like things have been taken from him.
“I didn’t get those last spirit days, the last chat with my principal, the last chat with my teachers, get to see all the younger students and hang around with them,” said the 17-year-old, who purchased a pink suit, something different, for graduation and was looking forward to the night.
There was also no final band trip, or sporting event or a chance to participate in drama festivals.
“It’s just cut off, yeah, the big cliffhanger.”
It will be a year with no graduation for the 37 students in the class, most of whom have been together since kindergarten.
“Being able to share that moment with, not only my grad class, but my teachers, and my family and everyone else’s family just all at once. Being able to have everyone that everyone I care about all together and have that last hurrah together.”
Faith Holloway, a Grade 12 student at Holy Spirit High School in Conception Bay South, has dreamt of her prom since she was in kindergarten.
“I remember thinking how the class of 2020 seemed so far away back then,” she said. “Now, it’s finally here, and I was so excited to think it was finally happening…
“It’s definitely a long process preparing for it, but everyone wants it to be perfect because it’s a day everyone dreams of.”
The 17-year-old, who was looking forward to wearing her prom dress, can’t believe how the pandemic has impacted so much of our lives.
It may not happen in the spring, but she’s holding out hope there will still be a graduation.
“As long as it happens,” she said, “it doesn’t really matter how long I have to wait.”
Melody Hubert of Corner Brook Regional High was “super pumped” to find her grad dress seven months ago while in St. John’s for a taekwondo tournament.
“It was the perfect fit,” she said. “I felt like a princess.”
During the trip, she also got the jewelry and shoes to go with the rose gold coloured dress and has had her hair and nail appointments booked for some time. She was heartbroken when their graduation had to be cancelled.
“I was looking forward to walking down the grand march with my boyfriend and having a fantastic night and that was just taken away from literally everyone,” she said.
Knowing it’s for a good reason doesn’t make it any easier.
“I understand why it has to happen, everyone needs to stay safe. And I understand the circumstances, but it’s still taking away something we really have wanted for a really long time.”
A high school graduation is about goodbyes and Claire Dwyer also wanted to experience those last moments with her friends at Exploits Valley High in Grand Falls-windsor before their lives took different paths.
“We look forward to the whole thing, but mostly just getting to spend that time with their friends because you don’t know if you’re going to see them all again,” said Dwyer.
Now, their graduation is going to live forever for different reasons. The COVID19 pandemic that forced the shutdown of the province’s schools ensured it was a year they’d never forget.
“It’s unbelievable that this is happening …,” said Dwyer. “It’s something we will talk about for the rest of our lives.”
The homes of Dwyer’s graduating class are marked with a ‘Home of a 2020 Graduate’ sign on their lawns and in their windows.
Similar signs will be seen around Pasadena, donated to the graduates by Trudy’s Coffee and Convenience.
Many around central Newfoundland and beyond have shared social media posts congratulating their upperclassmen and there have been other similar physical acts.
In Botwood, one store displays an eight-foot sign with the names of the entire Botwood
Collegiate class written on it. At the top are the words ‘Senior strong.’ Graduates in Glovertown were each given specialized cakes from a local grocery store on May 1.
Residents in the Town of Gander were asked to decorate the outside of their homes with the colours blue, white and red in honour of Gander Collegiate graduates for their graduation on May 8.
Julianna Dyke of O’donel High in Mount Pearl was also counting down the days until her prom.
“It definitely sucks not being able to have it at the end of your senior year,” she said. “As soon as all this (pandemic) started, my friend and I were in a group chat (online) and figured there was no way we could have a great time. We were initially super upset.”
The 17-year-old bought her dress during the first month of school last fall.
“I couldn’t wait. The first day I went out, the first dress I tried, it was the one,” she said, describing her dress as purple embroidered flowers on top, with a sparkly green and pink skirt, with layers of toll.
She’s had her appointment to get her hair and nails booked done since January.
However, Dyke said she and her friends are trying to make the best of it and are not giving up having their big day.
“Hopefully in the fall, people might still be here and they’ll be able to have one for us when everything opens up
“And my Mom keeps telling me, ‘Oh, you’ll have a great story to tell everybody about the year you graduated.’ It’s definitely kind of like a special class.”
The New- foundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD), in a prepared statement, said it recognizes the importance of graduation and prom events for students and families, as well as school staff, who want to honour graduates in accordance with school traditions.
“It is unfortunate, but it appears plans for this year’s ceremonies will look very different than in previous years, given that any event has to be in line with protocols put in place by the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
The NLESD pointed out that celebrations are school-specific events and each school will determine how they will honour their graduates. While the district would be open to participating in virtual events, it notes their focus remains on ensuring eligible graduates can fulfill graduation requirements, with courses they need to pursue their post-secondary plans.
The unusual situation for graduating students prompted Health Minister John Haggie to applaud those who are trying to make the best of it.
“I think it’s worth reflecting on some of the local, innovative ways to try and celebrate those (graduations), recognizing that this will be a grad unlike any other for the graduating class of 2020,” he said in the May 7 provincial government briefing.
“I take my hat off to them and their parents and their friends for coming up with some really fun ways of trying to do this.”