Virtual graduation, proms, and senior trips. How to celebrate your high school senior during coronavirus pandemic
By
Staff, AccuWeather
Published May 12, 2020 4:27 PM EDT
Despite everything going on, the Hanover Area School District in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, has found a unique way to send off seniors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed high school seniors of several rites of passages: that easy last semester, senioritis, prom, senior trips, and now, it’s quite likely they will not be able to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas due to strict social distancing requirements. Parents, teachers, principals, and in some cases entire communities, are rallying around the seniors to help fill the gaps of these staples of that last school year. Here’s how high school seniors are coping with coronavirus cancellations.
Photo by Tai's Captures
Tai's Captures
It’s safe to say no senior can say Grammy Award-winning singer Dua Lipa is performing at their prom...until now. The British singer is partnering with iHeartRadio to host a virtual prom for millions of high schoolers across the U.S. On Friday May 8th on iHeartRadio’s Hit Nation station, Dua Lipa, Joe Jonas, John Legend and other pop superstars will serenade seniors. The 4-hour long iHeartRadio Prom kicks off at 8 p.m. local time and will be broadcast across all iHeartRadio stations. These singers join a long list of celebrities helping high schoolers still have that prom experience during the coronavirus pandemic. TODAY Show co-host and weatherman Al Roker threw a virtual prom for Douglas County West High School in Valley, Nebraska via the Zoom platform. The teens got decked out in their tuxedos and gowns and just hung out with the celebrity weatherman. A prom king and queen were even crowned and singer Demi Lovato popped in for a quick message to the Class of 2020. While the average family probably lacks this star power to pull off a celebrity prom, that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating your senior. One idea is to coordinate a virtual prom with other parents at your teens’ high school. You can still make it a night to remember by having them get dressed up, take pictures then hangout on a video chat to see what everyone is wearing.
You may have seen a lot of Class of 2020 yard signs popping up in your neighborhood. With coronavirus cutting short the school year and graduation parties, many families are taking to saluting their seniors with yard decorations congratulating students who are spending what remains of the school year at home. If you can find a local sign or printing company to create the banner, sign, or even door hanging, even better as you’re helping to stimulate a local economy that is reeling from staggering job losses and people on the job hunt.
Photo by Julia M Cameron
Julia M Cameron
The extent of most of our travel during the coronavirus quarantines is basically going from the living room to the kitchen multiple times a day. That’s not much action since the typical senior trip heads to places like Washington, D.C. or New York City. Both of these major U.S cities are hotspots for coronavirus, with both places clocking tens of thousands of cases. Living in the technology age, we can virtually visit thousands of different places without even leaving our living rooms. Here is a list of 10 places for your seniors to check out for their virtual senior trip.
Photo by Godisable Jacob
Godisable Jacob
Millions of high school seniors will likely miss out on the pomp and pageantry of a graduation ceremony. Seniors won’t have a chance to walk across the stage, receive their diploma, turn their tassels and toss that cap high into the air to say goodbye to their high school years. The Burleson, Texas Independent School District is among those across the nation announcing plans to celebrate the Class of 2020 with virtual graduation ceremonies to be held on regularly scheduled graduation dates in May. The district will also have a senior parade and will hold an in-person graduation ceremony at sometime in the summer. Chicago will send-off seniors like never before with a city-wide virtual graduation ceremony. AccuWeather affiliate WLS-TV reports Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school leaders are still working out the details, but the commencement speaker is epic -- Oprah Winfrey. Oprah will be busy in May as she’ll also deliver a commencement address on Facebook & Instagram’s virtual graduation ceremony for college seniors. If your local school district isn’t holding its own virtual graduation ceremony, throw your own! Set up a video chat session with family and friends so they can pass along congratulations and well wishes to the senior.
Photo by TinTin12
TinTin12
While we’re living in the time of COVID-19, life truly does go on. We can still celebrate major milestones in totally different ways. It will definitely create memories that will last a lifetime. While having a little fun, don’t lose sight of the daily coronavirus statistics than can signal when we return to a little bit of normalcy. AccuWeather is your source for the latest statistics and COVID-19 developments. Our robust focus on coronavirus includes an interactive map to see where new cases are developing, a tracker showing how many people are recovering, and in-depth podcasts talking about how weather can impact coronavirus. You’ll also find the latest information on Accuweather TV network, Twitter and Facebook.
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Virtual graduation, proms, and senior trips. How to celebrate your high school senior during coronavirus pandemic
By Staff, AccuWeather
Published May 12, 2020 4:27 PM EDT
Despite everything going on, the Hanover Area School District in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, has found a unique way to send off seniors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed high school seniors of several rites of passages: that easy last semester, senioritis, prom, senior trips, and now, it’s quite likely they will not be able to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas due to strict social distancing requirements. Parents, teachers, principals, and in some cases entire communities, are rallying around the seniors to help fill the gaps of these staples of that last school year. Here’s how high school seniors are coping with coronavirus cancellations.
Photo by Tai's Captures
Virtual proms
It’s safe to say no senior can say Grammy Award-winning singer Dua Lipa is performing at their prom...until now. The British singer is partnering with iHeartRadio to host a virtual prom for millions of high schoolers across the U.S. On Friday May 8th on iHeartRadio’s Hit Nation station, Dua Lipa, Joe Jonas, John Legend and other pop superstars will serenade seniors. The 4-hour long iHeartRadio Prom kicks off at 8 p.m. local time and will be broadcast across all iHeartRadio stations. These singers join a long list of celebrities helping high schoolers still have that prom experience during the coronavirus pandemic. TODAY Show co-host and weatherman Al Roker threw a virtual prom for Douglas County West High School in Valley, Nebraska via the Zoom platform. The teens got decked out in their tuxedos and gowns and just hung out with the celebrity weatherman. A prom king and queen were even crowned and singer Demi Lovato popped in for a quick message to the Class of 2020. While the average family probably lacks this star power to pull off a celebrity prom, that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating your senior. One idea is to coordinate a virtual prom with other parents at your teens’ high school. You can still make it a night to remember by having them get dressed up, take pictures then hangout on a video chat to see what everyone is wearing.
Yard decorations
You may have seen a lot of Class of 2020 yard signs popping up in your neighborhood. With coronavirus cutting short the school year and graduation parties, many families are taking to saluting their seniors with yard decorations congratulating students who are spending what remains of the school year at home. If you can find a local sign or printing company to create the banner, sign, or even door hanging, even better as you’re helping to stimulate a local economy that is reeling from staggering job losses and people on the job hunt.
Photo by Julia M Cameron
Virtual senior trips
The extent of most of our travel during the coronavirus quarantines is basically going from the living room to the kitchen multiple times a day. That’s not much action since the typical senior trip heads to places like Washington, D.C. or New York City. Both of these major U.S cities are hotspots for coronavirus, with both places clocking tens of thousands of cases. Living in the technology age, we can virtually visit thousands of different places without even leaving our living rooms. Here is a list of 10 places for your seniors to check out for their virtual senior trip.
Photo by Godisable Jacob
Virtual graduations
Millions of high school seniors will likely miss out on the pomp and pageantry of a graduation ceremony. Seniors won’t have a chance to walk across the stage, receive their diploma, turn their tassels and toss that cap high into the air to say goodbye to their high school years. The Burleson, Texas Independent School District is among those across the nation announcing plans to celebrate the Class of 2020 with virtual graduation ceremonies to be held on regularly scheduled graduation dates in May. The district will also have a senior parade and will hold an in-person graduation ceremony at sometime in the summer. Chicago will send-off seniors like never before with a city-wide virtual graduation ceremony. AccuWeather affiliate WLS-TV reports Mayor Lori Lightfoot and school leaders are still working out the details, but the commencement speaker is epic -- Oprah Winfrey. Oprah will be busy in May as she’ll also deliver a commencement address on Facebook & Instagram’s virtual graduation ceremony for college seniors. If your local school district isn’t holding its own virtual graduation ceremony, throw your own! Set up a video chat session with family and friends so they can pass along congratulations and well wishes to the senior.
Photo by TinTin12
While we’re living in the time of COVID-19, life truly does go on. We can still celebrate major milestones in totally different ways. It will definitely create memories that will last a lifetime. While having a little fun, don’t lose sight of the daily coronavirus statistics than can signal when we return to a little bit of normalcy. AccuWeather is your source for the latest statistics and COVID-19 developments. Our robust focus on coronavirus includes an interactive map to see where new cases are developing, a tracker showing how many people are recovering, and in-depth podcasts talking about how weather can impact coronavirus. You’ll also find the latest information on Accuweather TV network, Twitter and Facebook.
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