Rockwood School District is hedging its bets on when to hold graduation for the Class of 2020, with lots of possible dates on the calendar.
The Eureka High School’s graduation originally was set for May 19, but that date was canceled.
However, coronavirus contingency plans were put in place.
Superintendent Mark Miles announced in a video that new graduation dates have been set for June 23-24.
He said Eureka High’s graduation will be 5 p.m. on June 23 at the Chaifetz Arena.
Miles said if the June 23 date is canceled, then graduation will be held 5 p.m. on July 15 at Chaifetz Arena.
Miles also announced prom would not be held at any of the four district high schools.
He also announced that the district’s Rose Awards ceremony, which honors members of Rockwood’s staff and community, had been rescheduled to June 7. The event originally was set for May 3.
Miles said if the Rose Awards cannot be held in June, the district will find a September date to hold the ceremony.
According to an article posted on the Eureka High School website, a drive-thru area will be set up on May 11 outside the school so students can pick up their caps, gowns and honor cords.
Three shifts have been set up, so students whose last names begin with A-F should go to the pickup from 8-9 a.m., G-M from 9-10 a.m. and N-Z 10-11 a.m.
According to the article, students will need to print their first and last names on a piece of white paper and place it in their vehicle windshield before arriving at the drive-thru.
While the district continues to work to finalize dates for various end-of the-year celebrations, students and parents have found new ways to recognize the milestones.
Prom
On April 18, numerous seniors posted videos and photos on social media sites of them dancing and celebrating what would have been prom night for Eureka High School.
Principal Charles Crouther, who is retiring at the end of the school year, said his heart goes out to this year’s senior class.
“As adults, the only thing I can say to the seniors is there will be other memorable dances ahead of them in their future whether it be at a college, or a university, or a junior college, or a wedding, or at some sort of a fraternity function,” he said. “More will come down the pike. I know it's going to be very difficult for them to have lost this, but it's better that they were at home, staying healthy.”
Crouther said he appreciates the fathers and families who did something special on April 18 for their seniors.
“Yes, it is a loss and it is disappointing, but there will be more good things and good times ahead for the class of 2020,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered school buildings on March 18, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has ordered school campuses to be closed for the rest of the school year.
Morrison said a parent has created a Facebook group where people can “adopt” a Eureka senior and send a care package and kind note. The Facebook group is called “EHS Class of 2020 Adopt a Senior.”
Dancing with dad
Eureka High senior Annie Wuelling said although she couldn’t go to prom, she now has a great memory with her dad.
“My mom actually kind of got me to do it because I was kind of not wanting to, but it was fun in the end,” said Wuelling, 18. “I'm glad she made me do it.”
On April 18, Annie’s mother, Maureen, told her to get into her prom dress and come downstairs.
Maureen said her original plan was just to take photos of Annie in her dress, but another idea took shape.
She asked her husband, Wally, to quickly get dressed in a suit.
“You could take her to prom,” Maureen said she told her husband.
Maureen said she was unsure if her plan would work.
“She (Annie) wasn’t in really too great of a mood that day, because she was a little upset knowing that it was a day of prom.”
But the surprise turned out fine.
Annie, who said she does not get dressed up often, wore a simple light pink floor-length dress.
Wally chose two songs for the impromptu prom.
First, he and Annie danced to Eric Clapton’s “You Look Wonderful Tonight,” which Maureen said has special meaning for her and her husband. It was the song for the first dance at their wedding.
Wally’s second selection was “Sweet Annie” by the Zac Brown Band.
Maureen said she wanted to make sure her youngest daughter did not miss out on all the senior activities.
“I didn't want it (prom) to slip by without it being a moment that we could celebrate,” Maureen said.
“She is the youngest of four and is missing out on everything her siblings all got to do for their senior years, and she has patiently waited her turn. Now it’s all for nothing really because of the current situation in our life.”
Annie said she enjoyed the prom night her mom created.
“I was looking forward to going to prom senior year, but obviously it got canceled,” Annie said. “So, it meant a lot to me and I know I'll remember it for a very long time.”
Annie said losing the rest of her senior year was the most disappointing result of the coronavirus.
“It (the prom) was just one more thing,” she said.
Parking lot prom
Eureka High senior Katherine Baremore, 17, celebrated her prom on a parking lot.
Baremore decided to meet up with a friend and dance from a safe distance.
She wore a navy blue off-the-shoulder dress.
“We put on our prom dresses and did full makeup, full hair and everything,” she said.
Baremore, who is planning to attend Illinois State University next school year, joined her friend and future college roommate, Kaity Knittig, for their prom. Knittig is a senior at Marquette High.
“We went first to Eureka (High School’s) parking lot and we blasted some music and jammed it from our cars. We just danced around in the parking lot and had some fun doing that,” Baremore said.
“Then we went over to Marquette’s parking lot, too, and we played music and danced around and just talked and had a good time.”
Baremore said she and Knittig are both country music fans and picked songs from that genre, mostly.
Baremore said senior prom had been a focal point for her since childhood.
“My parents actually teach at Eureka High School, so ever since I was little, I would always see all the seniors celebrating their senior prom and getting to go and look like princesses and dress up and look so beautiful.
“I had been looking forward to that since I can remember,” she said.
But Baremore said she hasn’t been dwelling on the disappointment.
“I realized that I would much rather have the people who make me feel that way (happy) all the time,” she said. “Be there for college graduation and stuff rather than everybody getting sick because of the virus.”
She said the parking lot prom was special, too.
“I just am happy with the memory that I got to have with it, and I'm kind of just excited for the new chapter that I'm about to open in my college life,” she said.
