By Taylor Boyd
The ceremony for Patrick County High School’s Class of 2021 is set to be held on Friday, May 21 at 6 p.m. on the football field. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. for seating.
Seniors will be given six tickets for guests, and two parking passes, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Andrea Cassell said. Each guest must have a ticket, and every car a pass, for admittance to the ceremony.
If handicap parking access is needed, pre-approval is required “so we know how many spaces to make available,” Cassell said.
Forms for pre-approval can be picked up at the Patrick County High School front office and must be submitted by Friday, May 14.
Cassell said families are asked to help maintain social distancing and the other protocols to protect everyone at the ceremony.
“The families will sit in groups and maintain social distancing during the ceremony. Each party will be six feet from another party. Students will be six feet apart on the field. Masks must be worn according to the executive order,” she said.
“When the ceremony is over, we are going to have our graduates marched out, and then they will be released to their vehicles. We won’t have socializing on the field. Because of social distancing guidelines, we will not be able to just dismiss the graduation and allow everyone to just scatter on the field,” she said.
Cassell said the ceremony will also be livestreamed on the Patrick County Public Schools Facebook page at 6 p.m. for those unable to attend.
If there is inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to Saturday, May 22 at 10 a.m. on the football field. Cassell said a decision will be made to move to the rain day schedule by Thursday, May 20. “I guess if it’s raining at that point then we would have to move indoors. Then we would have to have two ceremonies, and each graduate would only be able to have two tickets at that point,” she said, and added the current plan is to hold one ceremony for the entire graduating class.
