As graduation approaches, seniors have very important dates to look forward to. Some of these most prominent events are senior playday, the senior banquet, senior awards, signing days, the elementary and middle school walk-through, senior breakfast, graduation rehearsal, an alumni dinner, and of course, the actual graduation itself. With those events, the seniors may be confused about what to bring or even what to wear. So, you can read below to hopefully find the information needed to properly enjoy the last few moments as a senior.
To prepare while still in school, students will pick up their cap and gown in the cafeteria on April 30th during their assigned lunch. Many signing days will also take place leading up to graduation, which is a way to support your classmates. Those signing days will be the Fine Arts Signing Day in the Martin Marietta Theatre on May 6th at 6 pm and the Academic and Military Signing on May 14th at 5:30 pm, which is then followed by the senior awards ceremony.
Most main senior events are required in order to conclude your high school career by walking across the stage and collecting your diploma. For example, if you are not able to attend graduation rehearsal you will not be permitted to walk across the stage on graduation night. Remember all fees and fines must be paid by May 6th in order to collect your diploma, and all graduation surveys must be completed to participate in the graduation ceremony. If any additional information is needed, please talk to Mrs. Hinterlong or Mr. Ward.
Harrison’s Senior Playday is on Friday, May 10th at Northern Kentucky University. The required senior event is to last from 8 am – 2 pm and students are to arrive at the AC to board the buses. Tickets are on sale for $15. If not attended, you are required to attend school for that day. During the play day, you will have access to the campus recreation center which includes the aquatic center, basketball, and rock climbing! For this day be sure to be prepared with a backpack including a bathing suit, towel, tennis shoes, and a water bottle. At this event, you will be given donuts in the morning and served pizza later in the afternoon but might want to bring snacks to hold you over as the pizza is typically served closer to 1 o’clock.
The next prominent event is the Senior Banquet which is a dinner and ceremony that is to be held on May 13th at 6 pm. Like many as the year comes to a close, this event also requires attendance by all seniors. At this event, you have the option of chicken, pasta, and side options including mixed greens and bread rolls, as well as a beef option with macaroni and mixed greens. While you choose your foods to fill the plate, we will watch senior videos prepared by staff and TV production. This event has tickets on sale for $25. This is typically seen as a semi-formal event including dresses, skirts, blouses, polos, khakis, dress pants, flats, nice shoes, or heels.
Not to be confused with the senior banquet, the senior awards ceremony is the next day, May 14th at 7:30 pm, keeping the seniors very busy during their last month as Harrison High School students. At this event, they will go through senior awards, as students have seen before at underclassmen awards, as well as reveal the top 25, including the valedictorian, and salutatorian.
Another way to say goodbye to your education and begin your next step in life is our elementary and middle school walkthrough. Students are to wear their cap and gown with casual attire underneath on May 16th as they walk around the middle school and their respective elementary schools. The middle school walk is first, starting at 9 am, then soon after at 10 am, students will be taken to the elementary they first started attending over 11 years ago for a chance to see their old teachers and relive some old memories. While these buildings may not be the original place where they learned and grew, there will be some of the teachers who made the difference in a student’s life. Even without getting to see the old buildings, his walk gives graduating seniors the chance to see teachers and staff again and thank them for helping them get to this point.
The senior breakfast is May 20th at 8 am. It is the morning of the rehearsal where seniors are given donuts. This is just to prepare the seniors for the long day of rehearsal they have ahead of them and to make sure they don’t go hungry. This takes place in the AC bistro.
Rehearsal is mandatory to make sure graduation runs smoothly with no major errors. It is on May 20th from 8:30 am – 11:30 am, but if students are cooperative and listening, they can have the chance of getting out earlier. This will take place in the AC sport arena which is the same place as the actual graduation. At rehearsal, they will run through everyone’s name and make sure they have the correct pronunciation and run through speeches in order to get an idea of the length of the ceremony. Seniors should attend in their “What’s next?” attire, for example, their college t-shirt, military branch, or choice of workforce.
Graduation is the big event the seniors have been waiting for and much joy is expected to come with it. Graduation will take place in the Activity Center gym on May 21st at 7:30 pm. For the ceremony, girls wear white formal clothing, with boys also dressing in formal attire. Friends and family will come together to celebrate their new graduates. During the ceremony seniors wait till it’s their row’s turn to line up by the stage. Once your name is called you will go up and collect your diploma case (diplomas will be mailed to you later) and then you walk down off the stage and smile for a portrait. You then return to your seat and watch as the rest of your class completes the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, it will most likely still be daylight, so most families go outside to take some pictures.
The alumni dinner is the final event of the process of graduation. While it is not a required event, if you are awarded a scholarship and do not attend, then you will not collect the scholarship and miss out on a great opportunity. It is on June 1st at 6 pm. It is a dinner and meeting in which the class of 2024 will be welcomed into the alumni association. It will take place in the High School commons in which an alumni scholarship of up to $5000 will be awarded to 3 students this year.
