There will be a Senior Good-Bye BBQ at the football field Sunday for the Yuma High School Class of 2020 and their parents.
It will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Yuma School District-1 held a “drive-by” graduation on the original commencement date of May 17, Nearly all of the 42 graduates showed up. Each were in a vehicle with two guests and a driver. The vehicles lined up around the edge of the track at the football field. There was music and speeches.
Each graduate took their turn getting out of the car with their escorts, having their picture taken, then having a picture of them sitting in their assigned seat, then going on stage, being announced and their future plans, then turning their own tassel on their mortarboard, before returning to their vehicle with their escorts and going to the back of the line to watch the rest of the ceremony.
District leaders still held on to the idea of possibly holding a more traditional commencement later in the summer, settling on July 19. School officials held a couple of surveys with the graduates in recent weeks.
In the first one, Principal Brady Nighswonger said most responded and it was about evenly split on those who wanted another graduation and those who did not. He said there was not a lot of feedback on the second go-around.
He noted that another graduation ceremony still would have been limited, with the only real difference being the graduates would be able to sit outside on the field, and limited number of guests could sit in the stands.
In the end, the decision was made to have the barbecue.
“It will give them a chance to just hang out together,” Nighswonger said.
Senior parents got together Tuesday evening to plan out the details.
