Photo of a former graduation at Northland Pines High School. (Photo courtesy of Northland Pines School District and WXPR Radio)
RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — This weekend will be momentous for many Northwoods students, as they prepare to walk across the stage with their high school diploma in hand.
The upcoming graduation ceremonies will almost be “back to normal,” after a year that was anything but normal. For many graduating high school seniors, the past year wasn’t what they’d envisioned. Online classes, mask requirements, and disrupted extracurriculars made high school challenging.
But after a year of adapting to pandemic restrictions – coupled with a rapid vaccination rollout and changing CDC guidelines – the end of the year is looking a lot more normal. Instead of 2020’s drive-thru and virtual graduations, 2021’s ceremonies are back in person.
“It’s as close to normal as we can get during a pandemic,” said Scott Foster, the district administrator for the Northland Pines School District. The school’s graduation ceremony is Sunday, June 6. It’ll feature Pomp and Circumstance and commencement speeches – as well as masking and physical distancing.
Foster said the remaining restrictions adhere to the advice of the local health department for large gatherings. However, he said, masks shouldn’t take away from the weekend’s excitement. “One of the things I think this pandemic has taught us is when traditions get taken away, it’s really hard,” he said.
That’s why Foster and the students are happy to end an untraditional year, with a very traditional ceremony.
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