Graduation on hold until July for SVVSD seniors

To be sure, the local seniors in the class of 2020 are missing some notable high school rites of passage, but assuming Colorado's social distancing measures continue to ease through summer, a commencement ceremony won't be one of them. In an April 20th letter to district families announcing the cancellation of in-person classes, St. Vrain Valley Schools Superintendent Don Haddad wrote:

"For our graduating seniors and their families, we know how especially disheartening these past few weeks have been, and we want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to honor and celebrate the culmination of your 13 years of hard work that is marked by the important milestone of graduation. To this end, we are planning to move all graduation ceremonies for our eight traditional comprehensive high schools to Saturday, July 25, 2020."

According to Niwot High principal Eric Rauschkolb, the upcoming July ceremony at his school will "be as normal as possible," though he warned that the details are subject to change as the public health situation evolves.

"As of this moment in time, we know the date, we know the time, and we know the location. A lot can change between now and July 25th, and it could go in either direction. If the government lifts a lot of its restrictions...then we'll hold a graduation that will look very, very similar to how it's been held in the past. But if we still have some social distancing guidelines or other measures, then we will certainly be taking those into consideration as we plan."

Such measures could potentially limit the number of guests each graduate can invite, but Rauschkolb noted that the ceremony will also be livestreamed on the school's website.

As for other senior milestones, Rauschkolb said the school is planning to honor each individual graduate with yard signs, and will be sending out information about delivery starting this week. Additionally, he is working with the NHS Boosters, and members of the Niwot Business Association and Niwot Community Association to honor the class of 2020 on banners or signs throughout town. Rauschkolb and the student council is also working to reconfigure senior night and the traditional senior barbecue.

Meanwhile, Rauschkolb urged the seniors disappointed about missing their friends, sports, and activities to keep a positive outlook, and offered the following quote from Rev. Billy Graham to lend perspective:

"Without dark clouds in our lives, we would never know the joy of sunshine. We can become callous and unteachable, if we do not learn from pain."