No slow dances: High schools find new ways to mark graduation during pandemic
Emma Leclerc will ask her parents to twist the tassel on her graduation cap.
In this way she ensures that they are part of the rite of passage.
Leclerc’s mother and father were unable to attend their official call-up ceremony, but watched behind a computer screen as the 17-year-old went on stage.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Leclerc received her diploma Tuesday in the gym of Archbishop Jordan Catholic High School in Sherwood Park, Alta., In a closed ceremony attended only by classmates and staff.
A photographer was on site and school officials encouraged students to use Photoshop to paste in the faces of their loved ones.
“It’s very devastating because we’ve all been looking forward to this moment for years,” Leclerc said in an interview prior to the ceremony on Tuesday.
Emma Leclerc poses with her gap and dress. The 2021 high school graduate says she was devastated when she learned her graduation dance and the traditional ceremony has been canceled. (Emma Leclerc / Facebook)
For Alberta’s 2021 class, there won’t be any awkward slow dances with graduation dates, no grand banquets to celebrate the milestone. For a second year, these rites of passage were changed or completely canceled by the pandemic.
“There are so many of us who have paid for and bought graduate gowns,” Leclerc said. “It feels like we have them for free.
“I know we usually only wear them once, but it’s still the fact that we’re going to see this ceremony. It’s pretty annoying.”
Haven Hiscock, a sales rep at Prom Affair in West Edmonton, said business was quiet. Sales have fallen by around 50 percent this season.
Fewer graduates buy clothes and those who do spend less. Hiscock said most customers buy dresses for family photo shoots.
Graduates seem determined to keep the tradition alive despite the pandemic, she said.
“For years you went out with your mom or friends and bought yourself the prom dress you wanted and you would have that prom or banquet and ride in a limo with your friends.
“But now it’s just pictures, something to remember, especially in these difficult times.”
Tradition with a twist
As in 2020, some schools are getting creative. Some Edmonton Catholic students and public school students will graduate from drive-thru and drive-in events.
Archbishop O’Leary High School graduates will gather at Castrol Raceway in hats and robes, confined to their designated parking spaces and safely removed.
Students at Vimy Ridge Academy in Edmonton will trade the stage for the baseball diamond and receive their diplomas in a detached ceremony at ReMax Field.
Graduation follows a difficult year for the 2021 class. Each wave of COVID-19 brought new challenges as students were repeatedly sent home to study online.
“It was lonely,” said Tawfeeq Mannan, 17, senior at the Old Scona Academic in Edmonton.
“It kind of stinks, but in some ways it helped alleviate the loneliness of realizing that everyone is facing things equally.”
Tawfeeq Mannan is a 12th grade student at the Old Scona Academic in Edmonton and his grade. He says a challenging school year brought his classmates closer together. (Jamie McCannell / CBC)
Mannan’s family will be watching his farewell speech online.
“I was really hoping the graduate could have been personal this year because I feel like it seals the conclusion of everything, like, ‘Hey, we actually did this,'” he said. “But what can we do? COVID is a reality.”
Jaden Khaliq Majumdar, a 12th grade student at Strathcona High School in Edmonton, bought a tuxedo before learning that his school dance was canceled and the graduation ceremony was being streamed online.
“We make the most of what we have,” he said. “There were still some great moments.”
Jaden Khaliq Majumdar, 17, said the pandemic created a challenging school year for the 2021 class. He said celebrating graduation will be bittersweet. (Manuel Carrillos / CBC)