Mt. Blue to host a drive-up graduation ceremony

FARMINGTON — Mt. Blue High School will proceed with an in-person, drive-up ceremony at the school for the graduating class of 2020 on Sunday, June 14, at 10 a.m.

After polling students to see if they would be satisfied with a virtual ceremony, it was obvious that the graduating class overwhelmingly desired to make any modifications necessary to maintain an in-person ceremony.

Mt. Blue High School’s graduation will take place on June 14, as a drive-up ceremony with a limit of ten people per vehicle. There have been a number of efforts to celebrate the graduates leading up to the ceremony such as volunteers surprise planting signs on students’ lawns. Kahryn Cullenberg poses with her lawn sign. Submitted photo

The graduation committee and the Regional School Unit 9 administration and staff collaborated to design a ceremony that would adhere to the Maine Department of Education’s COVID-19 restrictions.

“Given the directives from the state and the CDC, we were able to craft a plan to honor seniors on campus on our scheduled graduation day. We have carefully coordinated an event that allows for our class of 173 students to celebrate each other in small groups, and to maintain some of the traditions of live musical performances and class speakers,” Mt. Blue principal Monique Poulin said in an email.

Students will remain in their vehicles while Poulin welcomes the 2020 class and their families. Two students will give speeches and a prerecorded musical performance will be projected from the stage.

Vehicles will have a ten person limit and will be organized by time slots to ensure a smooth procession. Students will leave their vehicles to walk up on to the stage to receive their diploma one by one and after a photo opportunity, they will return to their vehicles and immediately drive away from the stage area to allow for the next student to enter.

There will be a designated, graduate-only area where classmates will be permitted to cheer for each other outside of their vehicles as long as they are wearing face coverings. The school anticipates that the drive-up procession will last until 2 p.m.

Mt. Blue has also organized a variety of localized efforts to honor the graduates leading up to the ceremony.

“The biggest challenge to the entire process has been finding ways to properly honor the members of the Class of 2020 as we celebrate the rite of passage that graduation holds,” Poulin said. “We have tried to be creative in regards to lawn signs, Facebook shout outs, and other recognitions around town to celebrate seniors, and we are most looking forward to seeing our graduates on Sunday, June 14th, to congratulate them in person (with the use of social distancing protocols).”

To celebrate top seniors and announce scholarship and award recipients, Mt. Blue will also hold a recognition ceremony that will be prerecorded and released on Tuesday, June 9, at 6 p.m. The link will be available on the district website and Facebook page.