The 2020 Greene County High School Senior Class is having their commencement ceremony this weekend.

Due to COVID-19, the traditional graduation ceremony will look quite different this Sunday. Patty Fisher is one of the organizers and says there will be two ceremony options for graduates to choose from. The first one will take place at noon and it will be an individual walkthrough, where students and their families can walk across the stage at Linduska Field in Jefferson and receive their diplomas. The second one will be at 2pm as a full ceremony with the graduates spread out on the football field, along with speeches and then seniors will receive their diplomas.

Fisher explains the decision behind having two separate ceremonies.

“The idea behind two ceremonies was to give parents and graduates the option. If they felt comfortable by June 28th that they would be willing to get together with a group outside, still of course socially distancing. And if they weren’t comfortable that graduates would still be able to participate in some form of a graduation. So they’ll be the ones doing the individual walkthrough.”     

Fisher says 17 seniors elected to do the first ceremony and 70 will participate in the group ceremony. She is asking for parents and guardians to review the health recommendations before attending either ceremony. Fisher says they are discouraging the general public from attending, due to COVID-19 concerns. She adds, in case it rains that day, the backup location will be the Greene Room events center at Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson.