Over the next three weeks, you’re going to hear and see a lot around town when it comes to graduation.
Photos are starting to pop up online of senior students across Macon and Jackson counties participating in the tradition of putting on their caps and gowns and walking around elementary schools.
Why do this? Because it inspires the elementary students and tells them they too will one day get the opportunity to graduate several years down the road.
It’s hard to believe we are coming down to the wire and approaching the end of another school year. The first sign of the school year ending is the rush of athletic and scholarship banquets held at each school.
Then, the time will come for the graduations. The times when the parents, families, and friends gather to cheer on their loved ones and congratulate them on a job well done.
As much as we want to forget it at this point, these students started their freshman years about six months before the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world and threw everything into disarray.
Educators and school administrators across the country had never seen something like that health crisis before. Questions started flying about what to do about students learning, interacting with one another, and pushing forward with schooling.
Unfortunately, there were things these students missed out on, such as prom nights, sporting events, field trips, and other activities because we were all told to stay home to work and learn remotely for the safety of not just ourselves, but for our friends, teachers, and community.
Several years from now, the seniors at Highlands School, Rabun Gap, and Summit Charter School who are getting ready to walk across the stage, turn their tassels and receive their high school diplomas are going to look back on these last four years and think, “That was certainly not normal, and I don’t know how I managed to do it, but I did.”
As we enter graduation season, we can now look back and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that all the headaches, sweat, and tears are about to pay off.
Highlands and RGNS are set to graduate this coming Saturday. Highlands commencement will take place at 10 a.m. in the new gym at the school.
From all of us here at The Highlander, congratulations to the graduating class of 2023.