H-F Plans End of the Year Activities for Seniors

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Photo courtesy of H-F F.Y.I

The flyer for the Senior Stroll and Night Under the Stars. The event will take place on May 22.

The H-F administration and Student Government have prepared several end of the year events for the class of 2021. These events include: a virtual Honors Convocation on May 19, a Senior Stroll and Night Under the Stars on May 22 and an in-person graduation on May 29. 

The Honors Convocation will be the first end of the year event to take place. Due to CDC guidelines, the awards ceremony will be a virtual pre-recorded ceremony with a viewing party through VTV’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m.

At the convocation, seniors and underclassmen will be honored with several academic and athletic awards as well as H-F Foundation scholarship winners will be announced. 

The Senior Stroll and Night Under the Stars will be the second end of the year event to take  place.  

Junior class sponsor Matt Knoepke typically plans a traditional, off-site prom for seniors along with the junior class, but due to the pandemic, multiple classes of student government collaborated to plan an on-site Senior Stroll and Night Under the Stars. 

“This year has been different in so many ways given that our Senior Celebration will be on campus, and was a collaboration between the Student Government classes. Though, the one thing that has stayed constant was our focus to develop and deliver a quality and memorable experience for all of our Seniors; they’ve definitely earned it,” Knoepke said. 

The Senior Stroll and Night Under the Stars will take place in several different stations throughout the South Building. 

The night will begin with seniors arriving at the new Performance Art Center where there will be an opportunity to take pictures and view the results for the senior superlatives. Students will then move to the hallway outside of the library to view the senior wall and decision map displaying where seniors will attend college. 

Students will then have the opportunity to visit the senior deck and take more pictures before heading to the gym for socially distanced dancing. Dancing will continue throughout the night on the football field where music will be playing. Food will also be available for students outside. 

The Senior Stroll committee suggests casual to dressy attire for seniors attending as long as they meet school dress code expectations.The night will be completely free for seniors to attend.

“This year has been so disjointed for everyone, the chance to celebrate together at your school with your friends and classmates is a phenomenal way to wrap up your four-year journey as a Viking,” Knoepke said. “There is something that a Google Meet just can’t capture that students will have the chance to experience in person.”

The Google Form for the Senior Stoll and Night Under the Stars can be completed to secure a spot and sign up to be in a group of up to 20 friends. 

The final celebration for seniors will be an in-person graduation ceremony. Due to social distancing guidelines, there will be three different graduation ceremonies taking place on May 29. The first ceremony will be from 9 to 11 a.m., the second ceremony will be from 12 to 2 p.m., and the final ceremony will be from 3 to 5 p.m. May 30 has been set as a rain date for the graduation in case of inclement weather. 

A special email was sent out to seniors on May 3 allowing students to sign up for their desired ceremony time. If a student does not sign up for a ceremony time by May 15, they will be assigned to a ceremony. 

Graduation cap and gown distribution, senior spirit pack distribution, and school property collection will take place on May 20 and pick-up time is determined by last name grouping. Students will be provided with two tickets for the ceremony.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, this may affect the outcome of the events.