Fox and Seckman high school graduating seniors now know when they will get to don their caps and gowns and receive their diplomas.
The Fox C-6 School District will hold commencement ceremonies for its 833 graduating seniors on Sunday, June 21, at the Chaifetz Arena on St. Louis University’s campus, communication and instructional technology coordinator JP Prezzavento said.
Fox High School’s ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., and Seckman High School’s ceremony is set to start at 3 p.m.
Because of social-distancing regulations put in place by the city of St. Louis and the operators of Chaifetz Arena, each graduate will receive just two tickets for the event. Graduates typically receive 15 tickets for the ceremonies, Prezzavento said
The ceremonies are expected be streamed live on the district’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, Prezzavento said.
“We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the class of 2020,” said Tammy Cardona, assistant superintendent in charge of secondary schools. “While this year's graduation celebration is not ideal, our goal is to be able to honor the accomplishments of our seniors as best we can while still following guidelines set forth by local and state officials."
The district also announced a back-up date for the ceremonies in case new restrictions are put in place to help stem the spread of COVID-19, the virus that forced the Fox district to delay graduation from its original date of May 17.
Prezzavento said if the ceremonies cannot be held June 21, the events will take place Sunday, July 26. The ceremonies will still be held at Chaifetz Arena with the events taking place at the same scheduled times and with the same ticket restrictions.
While the district is able to hold graduation ceremonies, it did cancel this year’s prom and the traditional lock-in events that follow graduation, Prezzavento said.
“Unfortunately, we will be unable to hold prom this year,” Prezzavento said.
The district and community have found other ways to help honor the outgoing senior class before graduation plans were finalized.
Kristen Katz, a mother of a Seckman senior, spearheaded an effort to raise money to get yard signs and shirts for the 426 seniors at Seckman, and 410 at Fox. She raised $11,248 through a Facebook fundraiser page called “Fox & Seckman Senior Sign” to buy the signs and shirts from Arnold Printing and Graphics.
The signs and shirts were delivered in April.
Katz, who lives in unincorporated Arnold, said she only needed to raise $7,400 for the shirts and signs, and the remainder of the funds will be split between Seckman and Fox, and the seniors will decide how the money should be used.
“It was crazy,” said Katz, whose family lives in unincorporated Arnold. “I started the fundraiser at noon (April 9), and by the time we went to bed that night or the next morning, we had hit our goal. It hadn’t even been 24 hours, and our goal was reached.”
Also, a senior parade was held at Fox High School on Monday (June 1), and a senior parade was held at Seckman High School on Wednesday (June 3).
