The bombardment of Covid-19 has been a huge catalyst in our lives; there’s no question about that. In light of the vaccine being released to the public and cases plummeting, schools across the country, while maintaining social distancing and continuing to press on the importance of restrictions to keep from spreading the virus, are proceeding with hybrid entry. This includes our very own MHS, which still has it’s blue/gold hybrid/virtual system, attempting to socially distance while also giving students a taste of real school after a long 10 months of being isolated at home. Class of 2021 has definitely been more fortunate than class of 2020, what with being able to attend school at all and having an in-person graduation, but there are still questions about the ceremony. Below is a list of questions answered by Mr. Hemberger about how the ceremony will proceed. 

1. How will you maintain social distancing during the ceremony?

We will arrange assigned seating in the ceremony for the graduates according to the proper spacing and instruct guests to abide by the guidelines as well.

2. How many guests are allowed for each student? Why this number? 

This number is not yet determined and will depend upon CDC guidelines at the time.  At a minimum, it will be two guests per graduate.

3. How is it safe enough to have a ceremony? What safety precautions are put in place? 

As with school each day, we will follow the CDC guidelines, specifically for masks, social distancing and group gatherings.  We are also planning to do the graduation ceremony outside, which will help increase the max capacity.

4. How will this year’s graduation compare to last year’s COVID graduation, as well as past years graduations?

It will be different than last year because we will actually have a ceremony!  It will be similar to those in prior years with the exception of following Covid precautions.

5. How will Manville’s graduation ceremony compare to the surrounding towns in Somerset county? 

As far as I know, at this point (everyone is still in the planning phase), our ceremony will be most similar to normal, pre-Covid graduations compared to our county neighbors.  Our size makes it much easier for us to return to ‘normal’ sooner than others.

6. How does this time of year (preparing for graduation) differ from how you felt preparing for graduation for the previous class? 

This year’s graduation planning is more exciting than in the past.  It will be one of the first large events that MHS will be hosting in over a year and a half.  Our students and the overall school community is ready to move on. Everyone is excited to finally participate in a significant school event! 

Overall, the future seems bright and positive. Even though we can’t go back to exactly the way it was, life as we knew it is slowly starting to come back and soon enough we can put all of this behind us.