Raymond High School to Hold Socially Distanced Graduation Ceremony

RAYMOND — Superintendent Tina McCoy and Principal Steven Woodward would like to announce a modified graduation ceremony will be held for Raymond High School seniors this month.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate this amazing accomplishment with students and their families this summer,” said Superintendent McCoy. “Our students have grown tremendously over the last four years, and we’re looking forward to expressing our pride in all they’ve done in-person while still maintaining a proper social distance.”

WHEN:

Friday, July 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Should the ceremony be cancelled due to inclement weather, the rain date will be Saturday, July 18 at 10 a.m.

WHERE:

Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive, Manchester, NH 03101

WHAT:

Raymond High School will hold a socially distanced graduation ceremony to recognize the Class of 2020 next month.

A survey was sent out to students in June to gauge their preference of what type of ceremony they’d like to have, after which the plan was carefully crafted to ensure it complied with the latest guidance for local and state public health officials.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that we carefully thought out to ensure we could safely celebrate the incredible work our graduates have done during their time at Raymond High School,” Principal Woodward said. “The Class of 2020 has shown their strength, resilience and dedication to their learning after adapting quickly to the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. We can’t wait to honor all they’ve done, and look forward to coming together with the graduates and their families.”

Students will be given four tickets for guests to attend the graduation ceremony. Information about when students and their families should arrive, and where students should go once they arrive will be shared in the coming days.

Guests will have their temperatures taken before entering the stadium. Those with a fever will be placed in a quarantine area and their temperature will be taken 25 minutes later. If the individual still has a fever at that time, they will be required to leave the stadium property as a precaution.

Everyone will be required to wear a mask when entering the stadium and heading towards their seats. Once seated, guests will be allowed to remove their masks. Stadium staff will escort people to their seats when they arrive. More information about seating will be included on the tickets, which will be mailed out to families by Northeast Delta Dental Stadium staff.

Chairs spaced 6 feet apart from each other will be set up on the field for graduates.

Speeches will be given by Valedictorian Mackenzie Sirrine and Salutatorian Aileen Auclair. Gov. Chris Sununu will be the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

The event will also be filmed and live streamed thanks to the Raymond Cable TV Committee (RCTV), who graciously offered to provide up to $1,500 in funding for this service for the district. A link for the live stream will be available closer to the ceremony. The video will then be posted on the Raymond High School Facebook page and the RCTV website.

###