Poway High School

Senior Events and Graduation Information

Grad Nite 2024 at Belmont Park

Graduation Ceremony

Thursday, June 6, 2024

5:30 p.m. 

GRADUATION WILL BE LIVE STREAMED!  CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE LIVESTREAM

• 4:00 p.m.  Gates open for disabled guests and escorts

• 4:00 p.m.  Senior check-in begins. Students should report to the covered lunch area, entering near the Titan Center.  All students must be checked in by 5:00 p.m.

• 4:15 p.m.  Admission for guests with tickets begins.  Children will also need a ticket unless they are sitting on an adult’s lap.

• 5:00 p.m.  Admission for guests without tickets

• 5:15 p.m.  Processional begins.  Please memorize your row and seat number before rehearsal!

• 5:30 p.m.  Ceremony begins

Senior Graduation Check-In - 4:00 p.m.

• Students are required to carry their caps and gowns (do not wear them) for check-in. 

• Students should report to the covered lunch area, entering near the Titan Center. 

  • NO personal items (including but not limited to cell phones, purses, car keys, cameras, backpacks, shopping bags, and make-up bags) will be permitted in the staging area or on the field until after the ceremony.  Students must check in any personal belongings with a staff member before entering the staging area.  

Dress Code Requirements

• Following the dignified tone of commencement, students are encouraged to wear dressy attire under their caps and gowns.

• Only the official cap and gown from Jostens and approved academic regalia will be permitted.

• Leis and other adornments will not be allowed as part of academic regalia when students are admitted to the facility and staging area.

• Students shall be permitted to wear tribal regalia or recognized objects of cultural significance as adornment as long as it does not cause a substantial disruption of or material interference with the graduation ceremony.  Cultural adornments to graduation caps are permitted, but this does not include decorating the top of the graduation cap/mortarboard with messages.  Students who desire to wear tribal regalia or cultural adornments should seek permission from Principal Nash before graduation rehearsal on June 6. 

Dress Suggestions

• Slacks

• Button-down shirt with collar

• Tie 

• Dress or skirt with an appropriate top

• Pantsuit

• Dress shoes, wedges, or flats - heels are discouraged to avoid injury, damage to track and turf, and improve comfort for long periods of standing

Audience and Graduate Conduct Expectations

• To allow each graduate and their family to fully enjoy their moment of honor, activities that could detract from the ceremony are strongly discouraged.  

• Audience members are asked to not use noisemakers of any kind and items are subject to confiscation upon entry to the stadium.

• Balloons, noisemakers, air horns, umbrellas, and other such items will not be permitted in the venue.  These items obstruct others’ views and prevent people in the stands from hearing the program. Guests bringing in restricted items will be asked to discard them or return them to their vehicles until after the ceremony.

Graduation Ceremony Parking and Shuttle

• Stadium gates will be open at 4:15 p.m. for guests with tickets.  

• If permitted, guests without a ticket will be allowed access to the stadium beginning at 5:00 p.m. 

• Parking at graduation can be a challenge.  Parking lots will be closed as they fill up.  Additional parking is available at Lake Poway.  There will be a free shuttle service provided from 4-8 p.m.  The access gates to Lake Poway will close promptly at 8:00 p.m.  

• Carpooling is strongly encouraged.  Cars parked in the fire lane, dirt, or lawn areas of the school grounds are subject to towing and/or ticketing.  

• Please be mindful of the possibility of the need to get emergency vehicles in and out of the parking lot in the event of an emergency.  An impounded vehicle and a ticket will sour the graduation experience for the whole family.

Special Needs Parking and Seating

• Vehicles that are driven by guests with disabilities are allowed to park in the staff parking lot south of the football field by the Doc Munday wrestling building.  Disabled persons' parking placards or license plates must be clearly displayed.  Guests will be asked at the security checkpoint if they need transportation to the stadium.  If assistance is required, a member of the security team in a golf cart will assist.

• Drivers dropping off a guest with disabilities will be instructed to drive into the bus loop at the front of the school.  If assistance is needed, PHS staff will be available to help.  Vehicles may enter the driveway at the south end of the stadium (the school’s main entrance) to get to the drop-off zone.

• Stadium gates for access to the disabled person seating area will open at 4:00 p.m. for all disabled guests and escorts.  The entrance is at the southwest gate of the stadium, by the ramp.  Pop-up canopies will be placed at the entrance. 

• One able-bodied family member may accompany and sit with each disabled guest.  A Poway High staff member will issue one wristband to the disabled guest and one to their able-bodied escort.  Wristbands will be placed on each person’s wrist (not handed to people).  Escorts must sit and remain with the disabled guest for the duration of the ceremony.