On Wednesday, February 1, 2023 during Flex Time, seniors met up for a presentation on graduation procedures. Voting for Teacher of the Year, the class shirt contest, graduation speech auditions, submitting photos for the class of 2023 video and cap and gown orders were covered during this meeting. For those who missed it, here’s a quick recap of the event.
Graduation speech auditions are ongoing, and submissions of speech transcripts were due on February 16. The committee is currently reviewing the speeches and will call back students for presentations. The senior shirt contest also happened; shirt designs were due February 3 and voting for that closed on February 9. All designs were student art.
The Teacher of the Year is chosen by the students, and determines what teacher will speak at graduation. In the preliminary rounds, each student nominated a teacher; the top three were Mr. Flynn, Mr. Khouri, and Mr. Miller. Formal voting in Canvas ended on February 10.
The class council is also making a video with a compilation of photos for the class of 2023, which will be shown at the senior picnic. Any seniors who want to be featured should send in their pictures via the link on the class council’s instagram page
Mr. Dan Pasquarelli from Jostens also spoke to the seniors about the cap and gown ordering process. By following this link, students are led to the graduation portal which includes all the direct links to Jostens products. To order their cap and gowns, students should first click on the “View” button under “Step 1- Reserve Your Cap & Gown.” Afterwards, a page with questions should appear. Students should fill out all their contact information and ensure the email they type in is their personal email rather than their school email. After filling out their contact information, students should list their approximate height under answer number one, their approximate weight under answer number two, and any of their teachers’ names under answer three. After clicking the “Submit” button, students should close that window and head back to the main portal page. Under the title “Order Your Cap & Gown and Grad Products Here!” there’s another “View” button that will take students to the main ordering page on the Jostens website. The Mascot Package is listed first, but by simply scrolling down and hitting the “Shop Now” button, students can buy just the cap and gown or choose from other packages. Caps and gowns are for students to keep, and the ordering deadline is March 1. Students must buy their caps and gowns from Jostens or borrow from an older sibling who graduated from Marriotts Ridge no earlier than five years ago because it needs to be the exact color and design; if students show up to graduation in anything different, they’ll be unable to walk the graduation stage.
Dr. DiPaula also dished out a few last minute reminders since graduation is just around the corner. He told students that they should consider writing thank you cards for the teachers who wrote them a letter of recommendation as those take a lot of time and effort. He reminded the students that if anyone is struggling with any classes, teachers and counselors are always available for extra support. There are also a few graduation requirements outside of just coursework such as community service. If it’s unfulfilled, students will not be able to get their diplomas, so that’s something to watch out for.
These last few months will go by fast, and before they know it, seniors will be graduating. That’s why it’s more important than ever for them to support one another, whether it be in athletics, music or just general academics. Although their time in high school is fleeting, these last few months full of fun events are sure to stay with them for many years to come.