Both Bigfork High School and Grand Rapids High School have created events that allow students to walk across a stage and receive their diplomas in front of immediate family members. Both events will also culminate in parades that allow extended family and the community to honor the Class of 2020.
At Grand Rapids High School, Friday, May 29, seniors will arrive at the civic center parking lot at a specified time. Groups of 20
at a time will move to the GRHS parking lot. Graduates will leave the car and line up with clearly marked 6-foot spaces between them. Each student will have the opportunity to walk across the stage, pick up their diploma, have their picture taken by a professional photographer, and be cheered on by family and faculty, all within social distance guidelines.
At 5:00 pm that evening, seniors and their families will parade through the community beginning at RJE Middle School and following the Tall Timber Days route. Community members are invited to cheer the graduates and their families on while keeping safely apart from each other.
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At Bigfork School, a similar ceremony will take place at 2:00 pm on Saturday, May 30. Graduates and their immediate families will be invited to a graduation ceremony that will take place in front of Bigfork School. With a smaller graduating class, families will view the graduation ceremony in its entirety from their cars, including speeches given by the Salutatorian and Valedictorian. Students will again be invited to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas, followed by a photography session.
Immediately following the ceremony at 3:00 pm, graduates and their families will be led on a parade through the community. Banners have been erected in the city along the parade route, each featuring a different graduate.