KEEPING WITH TRADITION

Grads get close to ‘normal’ commencement ceremony

The Class of 2020 missed out on so much this year that Oxford High School Principal Steve Wolf didn’t want them to forego a traditional commencement ceremony as well.

Wolf, along with Assistant Principal Kurt Nuss and other administrators and teachers, organized outdoor ceremonies that were as close as possible to what this year’s graduates would have experienced before a global pandemic hit.

“We stepped out of the box and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat,” Wolf said of the June 30 commencements, held on the football field.

Unlike other high school ceremonies in the area, Oxford graduates did not have a commencement where they were driven up to a stage, exited from a vehicle, received their diplomas and got back in the vehicles.

Often, under this scenario, friends and family watched the modified granting of diplomas from the safety of their cars, all in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Oxford High graduates were divided into four time slots; each was limited to two guests. About 30 graduates of the Oxford Virtual Academy also had their own ceremony.

Breaking up the class and limiting

Chairs were placed 7 feet apart. The district’s custodial staff sanitized the football stadium in between ceremonies.

the audience kept total attendance at each ceremony under the number allowed for an outdoor gathering under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s current orders.

Each ceremony was broadcast live on Oxford Community Television and on the Oxford Community Schools’ Facebook page.

Chairs were placed 7 feet apart. The district’s custodial staff sanitized the football stadium in between ceremonies.

And just to make graduation as close to “normal” as possible, Oxford High musical groups recorded selections ahead of time that were played at the ceremonies.

“There was a great deal of time invested but I’m very proud that we had so many staff members step up,” Wolf said, adding that many made commitments after the school year ended.

Wolf said the district surveyed parents of seniors and “it was overwhelmingly clear they wanted, as much as possible, to have a traditional commencement.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OXFORD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS An Oxford High School graduate does a fistbump with Principal Steve Wolf at commencement. The fistbump has become a replacement for shaking hands as people keep their distance in the coronavirus pandemic. The school “stepped out of the box” to provide the Class of 2020 with a traditional commencement, in spite of the pandemic, Wolf said.

Oxford High School graduates attend commencement in chairs placed 7 feet apart on the football field.