Ilwaco, Naselle graduations set for Saturday

Published 2:00 pm Monday, June 3, 2024

SOUTH PACIFIC COUNTY — The Class of 2024 will be recognized throughout the region this weekend, including in Ilwaco and Naselle.

Seniors at both Ilwaco High School and Naselle High School will step across the stage and receive their diplomas at Saturday ceremonies, with other events also scheduled throughout the week honoring local seniors and their accomplishments both in and out of the classroom.

IHS’s graduation ceremony is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. In a departure from recent years, when the ceremony was held outside at the school’s stadium and football field in part due to covid-19 concerns, this year’s ceremony will be held indoors at IHS’s Karl P. Aase Gymnasium.

Due to capacity restraints, admission to the ceremony is ticket-only, with graduates receiving a set number of tickets to allocate to friends and family. For those not able to attend in-person, a livestream of the ceremony will be aired at Chico’s Pizza in Seaview and The Lost Roo in Long Beach.

A link to stream the ceremony will also be published prior to the beginning of the event on the Ilwaco High School Facebook page.

The graduation ceremony for 20 Ocean Beach Options Academy students will be held the day before on Friday, June 7. The ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Long Beach Elementary gymnasium, and admission is free.

Thursday, June 6 will be the last full day of school for graduating seniors, and IHS’s annual Scholarship Awards Night will be held that evening at the Hilltop Middle School auditorium in Ilwaco beginning at 6:30 p.m. Immediately before that, a GEAR UP senior celebration and family night will be held inside the Hilltop cafeteria beginning at 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday afternoon, IHS will hold its move-up assembly as well as a sports signing event for seniors who will be continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level.

In Naselle, the ceremony for graduating seniors is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. The NHS graduation ceremony will be held indoors at the Lyle Patterson Gymnasium, as it has in past years. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony.

Twenty-four students comprise the Class of 2024 in Naselle, with Dean Helvey serving as class president. Helvey will give the ceremony’s welcome speech, while Lewis Hoff and Alia Lebovitz will give the valedictorian-salutatorian address, respectively. Greg Nelson, a retiring teacher, coach and CTE director, will give the faculty speech.

The move-up ceremony for Naselle eighth graders is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11 in the school’s commons. A graduation ceremony for kindergarteners will also be held the following day on June 12 in the commons, and will also begin at 6 p.m.