Updates released for the Class of 2023’s school year

Madison Elliott, News Editor

New important information was released last week regarding senior events. Some dates were changed while others were added to the senior schedule.

In an e-mail released on September 22, the message first noted that parents will have a meeting in the winter for further information of other events and activities for seniors.

One of the biggest updates was regarding the date of graduation. The new date for graduation is Saturday, May 27 at 10:30 at Harford Community College’s APGFCU Arena. The previously scheduled time had been the Friday evening before.

The point of this decision for the date and location change is “to allow more families to attend and guarantee that [attendance] regardless of weather,” Senior Class Moderator Larry Hensley said.

With this, each senior will get 10 tickets for graduation.

Regarding the change in graduation location, Senior Class President Olivia Chesla said, “Honestly, I’m not very happy. I don’t really mind the extra days of school, but not being able to graduate at [our school] after the losses with COVID, it is frustrating to not be consulted.”

The next major change is for the last day of classes for seniors. In the past, seniors have completed their classes a few weeks before graduation.

“Administration as a whole decided to extend the senior school year only a few days since all seniors did not need a two-week window traditionally used for Senior Project Work,” commented Mr. Hensley.

The original last day that was announced when seniors first came back into the building was May 12.

Now this date has been changed to May 18, almost a week later than the original date.

Senior Hanna Do commented, “Seniors should have the right to have our last day of school on the date that we were told during the beginning of the year, just as we should have the right to walk the JC football field for graduation.”

STEAM Coordinator Michael Monaghan said the extension “does not affect my class since AP testing will be done. It is good for classes that mix juniors and seniors, so that the juniors won’t be left alone.”

From there, additional dates were announced such as the three dates for Senior Retreat. The dates include January 4-5, February 8-9, and March 22-23.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is March 1. The senior class trip to DC has two potential dates: March 8 or March 9, depending on the availability of museum tickets.

One thing that remains the same is the date of Senior Prom which will be held on May 13. The location of prom is the National Aquarium in Baltimore..

Seniors will also have off the Monday following prom.

Senior Awards and Baccalaureate and Graduation Rehearsal will be May 19. The Baccalaureate Mass will be held on May 25 at JC.

Regarding Senior t-shirt days, senior shirts are permitted every 23rd of each month with some dates being moved to fit school schedules. These dates include October 24, November 22, December 18, and April 24.

While opinions vary on these updates, students can still be excited and glad to have these events happen.