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Santa Rosa ISD announces 2020 graduation ceremony set for June 1

Educators from Santa Rosa Independent School District met on May 6 to plan the Class of 2020 Warrior Graduation Ceremony. Courtesy photo

Special to LFN

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa Independent School District will hold its Class of 2020 Warrior Graduation Ceremony on Monday, June 1 at 7 p.m. at the Santa Rosa High School Warrior Stadium. The district decided to hold an in-person, outdoor ceremony shortly after the Texas Education Agency released its official graduation ceremony guidance on May 5.

According to Superintendent Angela Gonzalez, the graduation committee, teachers and administrators met and supported the idea of having an in-person graduation ceremony.

“We are excited about having an in-person graduation. This will be so much more memorable for our graduates,” Gonzalez said. “We still have ready the option of a virtual graduation in case we need to change it.”

The Class of 2020 graduation ceremony will include the minimum standards of health protocol recommended. As such, all attendees will need to wear a mask, graduates will need to limit the number of guests to two and guests will need to stand and sit six feet apart from each other.

“Our intent is to keep everyone as safe as possible during this special event,” Gonzalez said. “We are going to do our best under the circumstances to make the graduation ceremony as special as possible for our graduates and their families.”

For extended family members and friends who wish to see the graduation, the district will livestream the graduation so people can watch from home.
Though it will be different, Santa Rosa High School counselor Antony Cantu believes the graduation ceremony will still be meaningful.

“Graduation is when our seniors can be recognized and come together one final time. It’s a rite of passage … it’s a memory,” he said. “The social distancing and other safety protocols won’t change the pride and joy of the occasion.”

Cantu continued: “The Class of 2020 experienced an eventful year. We want to give them the graduation they deserve.”

Paola Trevino, a senior at SRHS, is glad she will participate in a communal graduation ceremony, even if it is with a mask.

Though her class missed out on some senior memories due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trevino was unfazed. According to Trevino, many students of the Class of 2020 were born in the 2001-02 school year, when another tragic event happened — 9/11.

“We are resilient,” she said. “God gives his strongest warriors the toughest battles.”

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