Aberdeen High School graduates will get a parade, in-person seating and an all-night celebration for their 2021 graduation ceremonies on June 11.
Parents should have picked up their tickets (limit 6 per family) by last week, but any families not needing tickets donated those back into a pool from which students may request extra tickets beginning June 4.
Parade of Seniors
Like last year, organizers will meet at the Shoppes at Riverside parking lot in South Aberdeen no later than 4 p.m. on June 11 for the parade of AHS seniors and parents that will drive through downtown Aberdeen beginning at 4:30 p.m.
A map from the school explains the parade will cross the Chehalis River Bridge and continue on G Street toward the high school, head three blocks west to Broadway, turn onto East Market Street, then onto Grant Street ending in the parking area behind Stewart Field.
Stewart Field Ceremonies
Administrators plan to use both sides of Stewart Field for a much larger graduation than in years past, providing space for parents and students to responsibly distance during the ceremony. Graduates will enter on the east side of the field, where the home team usually sits.
Guests will enter from the parking lot through the main doors, with seating in both the home and away team sections. Seniors were assigned a color, blue or gold, to coordinate their seating so that parents are seated on the same side as their graduates.
All-Night Celebration
The “Senior Safe & Sober All Night Party” will begin at 11 p.m. on the night of the graduation ceremonies at the Aberdeen High School’s Sam Benn Gym. No entry is allowed after midnight, and those who leave before 4 a.m. are not allowed to reenter. Festivities include a hypnotist, age-appropriate casino, and bouncy toys like an oversized Human Hungry Hippo, Wipeout, and Human Foosball.
Preparing to Avoid Quarantine
The Aberdeen School District sent their seniors home last week, hoping to avoid any COVID-19 exposures so close to graduation time for about 215 students. District Superintendent Alicia Henderson said she was recently interviewed for a news segment on the topic.
“Aberdeen is kind of leading the pack, and I feel very confident in that decision,” she said.
