dear graduates

Due to the security measures regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the high school graduation for the Class of 2020 has been altered. At first, the Hackettstown Board of Education and Superintendent David Mango decided to proceed with a virtual graduation where students would arrive at the high school where a photographer would take pictures of them walking across a stage. After everyone’s picture is taken, the school would compile a graduation video for the class of 2020 and release it later in June for parents and students to watch. However, recent graduation guidelines released by Governor Murphy allow for outdoor graduations to take place. The high school graduation will now take place on July 6th at nine o’clock in the morning at Morrison Field. Everyone would still need to adhere to social distancing guidelines regarding the capacity of the ceremony as well as six feet of distance between students’ chairs. All participants of the ceremony, however, must wear a mask. The 2020 graduation ceremony is still not set in stone with specific details and is vulnerable to change at any time. Nonetheless, the police department, administrators, and parents are all working together to give Hackettstown students the recognition they deserve.

As a senior myself, I can say that the graduation ceremony is not only about receiving a diploma, it’s about celebrating our hard work and saying our last goodbyes. We don’t only look forward to the moment when we walk across the stage, we look forward to the moments after where we can hug our classmates and thank our teachers. It is a rite of passage from one class to another and a demonstration of the hard work that the teachers have put into each and every student. We feared that we might never get the chance to say goodbye to our teachers that might retire, the students that will go into the military, and the others that will move away. Nobody knows what the future will hold, as this pandemic has recently taught us, and we should not disregard the relationships that high school has created for everyone. For seniors these last few months are a transition into the next chapter of their life. We have grown up with all of these students since kindergarten, fifth grade, or freshman year and these are the last memories we will have with everyone. The first half of the year is spent diligently preparing for the future in order to enjoy the last moments we will have as high schoolers for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately for us, we are not getting that transition period into the next half of our lives nor are we getting the time to celebrate senior year with our entire class. This is an abrupt ending where we as seniors have not been given the same closure that every other class has received. We need to be able to say goodbye in order to move ahead without constantly looking back. Thankfully, we will have one last moment to come together with our peers, coaches, and teachers to finally conclude this chapter in our lives.

This is a message to the seniors:

I hope that we have all learned from this experience to truly appreciate the present moment. I hope that everyone remembers the good moments we have had together not only in high school but in middle school and elementary school as well. We all watched each other grow into the people we are today and although we missed out on a lot of memories that we could have made, we can still hold on to the ones we already have. As many of you are moving away for college, starting jobs, going into the military, or working on self-growth, enjoy life. Do not think about the moment it will all be over, think about what you can do to make the best of the moment you are in. We missed out on a crucial time of our lives, but it should not stop us from moving on. Live your life a day at a time and whether we see each other again or not: goodbye and good luck.