Class of 2020 Important Senior Events!

• Due Monday, May 18: CORRECT PRONUNCIATION OF SENIORS’ NAMES FOR GRADUATION:
  • “Normally” we meet with individual students to allow them to tell us the pronunciation of their name that will be read at Graduation. Obviously, that is not possible currently. However, we do need any Seniors who feel they need to share information on how to pronounce their name when we read their name for our virtual Graduation, please be sure to go to this link and complete the Google Form. Thank you for getting us this information by Monday, May 18th. I am sorry for the quick turnaround, but we need to begin recording parts for our virtual Graduation ceremony next week. Thank you for your help in giving us this information!

• Wednesday, May 20th, from 6:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.--DRIVE-THROUGH AT THE DRIVE:
  • As another way to celebrate the Class of 2020, on Wednesday, May 20th, from 6:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., we will hold a Drive-Through at The Drive event! This is going to be a special opportunity for our Seniors to drive into our stadium, around the walking track, listen to their name being announced on the Stadium sound system, and be celebrated by Athens Drive staff. Seniors are welcome to decorate their cars and participate in this event. Of course, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and standards put in place for the safety of everybody involved, we do have rules that need to be followed for this event:
    •  This event is for Seniors only. I would ask that students in other grades, families of Seniors, relatives, etc. do not drive another car and participate in this event. While we want to celebrate our Seniors, we also need this event to run efficiently and effectively so that we can get all of our Seniors recognized by 10:00 p.m. Family members can be in the cars with their Senior, but not in another car. In addition, no family members or students will be able to park in our parking lots or be in the stadium during this event. Thank you all for understanding these requirements.
    • Seniors or any other individuals in the car must remain in the car. Nobody in any of the cars who participate in our Drive-Through at The Drive event can leave the car. Thank you for your understanding and adherence to this policy. • Please remember to maintain social distancing throughout the event, so no high-fives, hugs, etc. out the window for other students and staff that might be there. Thank you. 
    • Please know that your Senior must turn onto Jaguar Park Drive, follow Jaguar Park Drive until they take a Left Turn into the last entrance to the Stadium Parking Lot, follow the Parking Lot road in front of the Stadium, drive into the Stadium through the lower entrance, drive around the Stadium, exit back out and then Exit the Senior Parking Lot by taking a Right onto Jaguar Park Drive. We will have staff there assisting, but this is the route for our Drive-Through at The Drive event. 
    • I would ask you all to please be sure to talk to your Senior about safe driving. This is a special event and we want to be sure our Seniors drive carefully throughout this entire event. Thank you for your help in speaking with your Senior! I am fired up for this event! We will have a special announcement at 8:20 p.m. (2020 Military Time!) to honor our Seniors. This event is going to be live-streamed on the Athens Drive High School Jaguar Club Facebook page so that any of our school family members can celebrate along with us. Please know that we are working to continue to find ways to recognize this awesome Class!

• Academic Awards Ceremony (More information coming soon!)
• Tuesday, June 2nd, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Distribution of Yearbooks, Stoles, Honor Cords Caps and Gowns
  • We will distribute Honor Stoles, Honor Cords, and Caps and Gowns for those students who did not pick them last Friday, May 8th. Students will also have the opportunity to pick-up their Yearbook at this time as well.
• Wednesday, June 10 at 6:00 pm: Class of 2020 Graduation Ceremony Livestream
  • This will include aspects of the traditional Graduation program including student and principal speeches, the turning of tassels, and the calling of each Senior’s name. Closer to the Graduation broadcast date, we will share avenues to access the ceremony via the school website. It will also be available after that time if that is more convenient for families and will be available for families to save the video. As a part of the virtual Graduation, each student will have a slide that shows their Senior portrait, has their name, and shares if they are an Honor Graduate and/or an NC Scholar. Students will have a brief opportunity to review their slides and suggest updates and to verify content.
  • On May 18th, students will receive an email to their WCPSS email account giving them access to an online portal to review their information. Specifically,
    • We will be using your Senior portrait. If you choose to use another photo, you will need to log into the portal to make that change.
    • If you prefer not to have your photo/name used in the slideshow, please let me know (smares@wcpss.net). 
    • The portal will open on May 20th at 8:00 a.m. and close on May 21st at 6:00 p.m. You will receive an email closer to the 20th with more information.
• Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm- DRIVE-THROUGH DIPLOMA CEREMONY
  • In addition to our virtual Graduation on June 10th, Athens Drive Magnet High School will also recognize the Class of 2020 with a Drive-Through Diploma distribution event on Thursday, June 11th (Last Names beginning with A through L) and on Friday, June 12th (Last Names beginning with M through Z), from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Please understand that during these drive-through events, students will get out of their car, have their name called, walk across an outdoor stage, get a photo taken with me handing them their Diploma (socially distancing, of course) and then get back into their cars. Please mark your calendar for these dates! Family members will be more than welcomed to drive more than one car to watch this event and capture it with pictures from the car. We will have staff taking pictures to share as well. More details will be communicated as we get closer to this event.

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A note from Mr. Remaley:

Athens Seniors, friends and families,

I don’t know where to begin, however, let me start by saying I miss you! I miss seeing this incredible Senior Class every day and preparing this “final stretch” to be the best one yet! I realize that we have to practice social distancing but let’s try not to be socially disconnected. Use this time to stay connected with each other, check on one another, and be there for each other. I have no idea how long this will continue and I hope that everyone is staying safe and I hope to see everyone soon!

Mr. Wright shared this letter with me from the 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year Chris Dier. He was asked to write an open letter to all the Seniors across the nation because he has a unique perspective on this current situation- he went through it himself.

I know we are apart, but you are not alone.

-Chris Remaley

Your Senior Class Advisor

The following was written by Chris Dier, 2020 Lousiana Teacher of the Year:

Dear High School Senior,

On Friday afternoon a few seniors came into my classroom after the last bell rang. They were concerned about prom and their senior trip. It broke my teacher's heart to listen. As you’re reading this, you most likely have similar concerns.

This is supposed to be your year. The year for your senior prom, sporting events, cheer competitions, senior trips, clubs, and the rest of what senior year has to offer. You were supposed to be the captain of that team, the officer of that club, or that student who wanted to be with their friends one last year before venturing into the unknown. This was THE year that your entire schooling was building up to. But it was robbed from you because of this global pandemic.

Let’s be abundantly clear – you were robbed, and it’s unfair. If you’re upset, then you should embrace those feelings. Commiserate with one another. Some folks will downplay the situation because they won’t know what it feels like to have their senior year stripped at the last moment.

I, for one, will not downplay it as it happened to me. Hurricane Katrina devastated my community when I was a high school senior. I remember leaving my school on a Friday afternoon with my buddies only to never return to that school. I was supposed to be the captain of my soccer team, go to prom with my longtime crush, and finish the year with my lifelong friends. But it was all canceled. Instead, I stayed in a shelter and finished my high school in a different state. It was tough, and I had to find solace in places I never envisioned. It was hard, but we made it through. And I’m reliving that pain as I think of your disruption to your senior year.

Most do not need to experience Katrina to know that this is tough on you. Those of us who work in schools do so because we care above all else. That caring does not stop once you leave those school walls. In situations like these, we worry more about you. There is a lot of uncertainty, but rest assured, districts across the nation are working in creative ways, from potentially abbreviated school years to organizing social events when this subsides, to make this situation the best they possibly can for you. Some educators are working endlessly to transfer to virtual learning and accompany those without the internet. Administrators are working to get those meals together for those who need them. We are all in crisis mode but know that we are all doing everything

we can to help during this tumultuous time. You are not forgotten. We are thinking about you. We are here for you. We care.

There’s nothing I, or anyone, can say to make up for that time you are losing in what is supposed to be one of the best years of your life.

But I can offer some encouragement. Right now, you have the power to make the most out of this unfortunate situation. If a decade of teaching has taught me anything, it’s that people your age are resilient and innovative.

Your generation can navigate multiple worlds and bounce between physical and digital spaces with ease. You are part of the most racially and ethnically diverse generation, and you embrace those differences in ways adults seem to struggle. You courageously put yourselves out there for the world to see and criticize. You push boundaries and challenge norms. You find ingenious ways to compensate for any gaps you may have accrued without the help of educators, whether it’s through Khan Academy or a sibling. It’s a small wonder why “post-Millennials are on track to become the most well-educated generation yet.”

I can also offer some advice. Help one another and your family. They need you. Do your grandparents or your elderly neighbors need groceries? Offer support. Some teachers may even need your help as many try to transition to online learning. We need you. Utilize your tech-savvy ways to bring yourselves closer together. Practice “social distancing,” or physical distancing, but stay as social as ever. FaceTime. Text. Tweet. Snapchat. Make Tik Tok videos (I don’t know if that’s still a thing so don’t laugh if I’m already out of date). Use these platforms to connect and uplift.

Binge Netflix and Disney+. Make memes. Exercise. Read books – maybe even those boring ones your English teachers were stoked for you to read. Or just read manga. Read something! Reach out to those friends you know don’t have internet access. Call and check up on ‘em. Listen to podcasts. Make a podcast. Start a hobby. Journal for posterity. You’re living through history. Your bold reaction to this is going to make history.

Lastly, I can offer some support. You may not know me, but I feel your pain; it stings. We as educators mourn with you. Again, you are not forgotten. We see your hard work. We value your unique perspectives. We hear your audacious voices. We cherish all of it, and we will continue to do so even from afar.

I am sad for you; truly, I am. I feel deeply for you; truly, I do. It makes my heart hurt as I write. But if there is any group that can plow through this in creative ways, it is your group. There is no pandemic strong enough to silence you or dent the passion of your generation. Keep your head up and keep fighting. Our country needs you because you provide hope for our future. This year may not be what you envisioned, but I’m eager to see what you do with it.

After all, it is still very much your year.

Stay healthy,

Chris Dier, a high school teacher