Shawn Stern has worked at the Ocean Beach School District for nearly three decades, and was the CTE director at Ilwaco High School at the time of his departure last fall.

LONG BEACH PENINSULA — The Ocean Beach School District is preparing multiple scenarios for next month’s senior graduation ceremony, including a virtual ceremony and a socially distanced ceremony at Peterson Field.

Ilwaco High School Principal David Tobin discussed the district’s current plans for what is usually the biggest event each school year during a meeting with parents of senior students via Zoom on April 30.

Virtual ceremony guaranteed

Regardless of whether a socially distanced ceremony is able to take place, a virtual, prerecorded ceremony will be posted online at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, the day graduation was set to take place prior to the pandemic.

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‘They deserve this, they’re wonderful young people. You have no idea how much we’ve missed them during the time that we’ve been out of school.’

IHS Principal Dave Tobin

For this ceremony, students will be filmed in advance walking through the arch in the high school gym — as graduates have done in the past — and receiving their diploma. The footage will then be edited into the virtual graduation video that will be released the day of graduation.

The video is also intended to have speakers selected by students and faculty, as well as a class of 2020 slideshow. The IHS music department, led by Rachel Lake, is also working on getting its band students to virtually perform “Pomp and Circumstance” for the ceremony.

Tobin said the aim for the school is to make the ceremony “as close to normal as we possibly can.” The plan is for the video to be made available to watch on YouTube and/or Facebook Live, and students will be able to keep a recording of the ceremony.

Socially distanced ceremony possible

In addition to the virtual graduation ceremony, the district is also making plans in case conditions allow for a socially distanced ceremony to take place on June 13 at IHS’ Peterson Field. If allowed to happen, the ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the virtual ceremony will be posted following the in-person ceremony.

“We’re going to plan for it and hope that we can do it, but we’re just going to have to wait and see how that goes,” Tobin said.

In this scenario, each household of senior students will gather at Peterson Field for the ceremony. Tobin said with socially distancing rules likely still being in place, attendees would likely be limited to immediate family members only.

Students will likely be gathered on the track, with attendees seated in the bleachers. Events will include recognizing each student, a tassel ceremony, live speakers chosen by students and faculty, and a slideshow that will be posted during the ceremony on social media platforms.

Regardless of how the situation plays out, scholarships will still be awarded as usual on the Thursday evening before graduation, June 11, at 6:30 p.m. Tobin said there will be a virtual presentation of the senior scholarship night, either on Zoom or another online platform.

Senior requirements

Tobin and IHS senior counselors stressed to parents that their students need to continue completing assignments in required classes in order to be eligible to participate in the graduation ceremony.

“Please just keep turning in your work to your teachers and just keep earning your credits so you can make it to graduation,” academic counselor Sarah Taylor said.

Even for students currently enrolled in a class that isn’t required to graduate, Tobin urged students to not drop those classes, especially if they plan on continuing their education at a college or university.

“If you are planning to go to college, you need to finish your classes. All of them. That looks really, really bad on your transcript, and colleges can change their minds,” Tobin said.

The district, after receiving the OK from the state, approved the waiving of local graduation requirements due to the unusual circumstances caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The OBSD Board of Directors exempted seniors from needing to complete a job shadow and 20 hours of community service.

Taylor said seniors still must complete a state-required High School and Beyond Plan, which she planned to send out to seniors this week. Students will need to fill out the survey form, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete, and return to Taylor so the district has it on record for the state.

Tobin urged parents to make sure their students are doing what needs to be done so they can graduate and take part in the ceremony to honor them and their accomplishments. School staff, he said, is committed to doing everything it can to recognize seniors and their accomplishments over the last 12 years.

“They deserve this, they’re wonderful young people. You have no idea how much we’ve missed them during the time that we’ve been out of school. So we’re going to find every way we can to recognize them and their accomplishments,” Tobin said.