Message sent June 24, 2020
Class of 2020 Families
We are less than a week away from celebrating our senior class with our in-person graduation event and virtual ceremony! As we mentioned in our June 9th message, both of these celebrations are scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, but we do have a rain date of July 1 for the in-person ceremony if needed. Below you will find more details on both events.
In-Person Graduation Event - June 30 (rain date July 1)
During the afternoon on June 30, we welcome all graduates back to campus for our in-person graduation event. Because this will be held outside in our Main Street parking lot, if the weather does not cooperate, we will look to move this event to our July 1 rain date. If we are forced to make this move due to inclement weather, we will be sure to communicate this news to all families through email and social media before 10 a.m. that morning. While the State of Illinois and DuPage County Health Department guidelines impact the celebration we’re able to offer, we’re confident we’ve created a memorable event for the Class of 2020.
Here is a diagram on what you can expect when you arrive at our in-person graduation event in the Main Street parking lot on Tuesday. Please note, all cars will enter the Main Street parking lot from Sherman Street (north end of the parking lot).
Here are the guidelines for the event:
- Every graduate is allowed to have one car drive through the event. We will not limit the number of people in the car, but the DuPage County Health Department has asked us to remind everyone that they should be from the same household.
- Members of the Class of 2020 are encouraged to attend in cap and gown.
- The highlight of our in-person event is when members of the Class of 2020 will have their name read as they walk across our traditional graduation stage to receive their diploma.
- The graduate and one person from the car will be allowed to exit the car at designated times. The guest will be allowed to take photos while the graduate signs the senior banner, walks across the stage, picks up the diploma, and/or poses for a picture in front of the DGN backdrop. All other guests must remain in the car. However, we have designed a traffic flow that will allow everyone in the car to be no more than 15-20 feet away and follow the graduate as they visit each station.
- Upon entering the Main Street parking lot, each graduate will be given a commemorative face mask.
- Both the graduate and the person accompanying the graduate outside of the car must wear a face mask. The graduate may remove the mask when crossing the stage and when posing for a photo in front of the backdrop. The guest should leave the mask on at all times.
- Lifetouch, our photography company, will be onsite to take pictures of graduates on stage and in front of our graduate backdrop. We’ve reached an agreement with Lifetouch to offer you these photos free of charge.
- While it is not an expectation, if you’d like to decorate your car to celebrate the occasion, feel free to do so.
- Graduates should arrive at their assigned time only. We have carefully orchestrated the event so that we can safely get all graduates through the event in a timely manner. Here are the arrival times according to the graduate’s last name:
12:00 Abdallah - Barrera
12:15 Barsketis - Buehler
12:30 Bulthuis - Claybour
12:45 Clements - Dennison
1:00 DeSitter - Eubeler
1:15 Faldetta - Gates
1:30 Geist - Gudino
1:45 Haddad - Jachim
(BREAK)
2:30 Jacobsen - Karam
2:45 Karrow - Kuczkowski
3:00 Laffey - Lyght
3:15 Macek - McLean
3:30 Mellstead - Murray
3:45 Nabeel - Papadimitropoulos
4:00 Papp - Poku-Adusei
(BREAK)
4:45 Poole - Rosen
5:00 Rosenberg - Seelinger
5:15 Segrave-Daly - Suarez
5:30 Sumida - Velasco
5:45 Velasquez - Williams
6:00 Witt - Zmola
Any graduate who is unable to attend this event should email Ms. Ruth Schneider at rschneider@csd99.org after July 1 to set up a time to pick up the diploma and cumulative file.
Virtual Graduation Ceremony
Our virtual graduation ceremony will premiere June 30 at 7:30 p.m. on our District 99 YouTube channel at youtube.com/csd99media. Feel free to share that link with any friends or family members, near or far, who wish to watch our graduation. The ceremony will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. and premiere “live,” meaning viewers will not be able to rewatch or advance the virtual ceremony. After the live viewing, the video will be available for playback.
Our graduation committee spent weeks planning and organizing our graduation to give the Class of 2020 a memorable virtual ceremony. We’ve made every attempt to personalize the ceremony to recognize each student in our senior class. Thank you for submitting the pictures and videos we requested. While we wanted to include everything sent to us, there were some limitations that kept us from using the 2,000+ submissions we received. That said, we think you will be pleased with the ceremony.
For those who would like to purchase a DVD of the graduation ceremony, Delack Media Group is offering the opportunity to purchase a copy of the ceremony. In addition, our production company is offering virtual graduation video albums for purchase. You can find more information on purchasing these items by visiting this Delack Media Group link.
If you have any questions about our graduation event, please email me at mmirandola@csd99.org.
The North High Administrative Team looks forward to seeing you on June 30.
Mark Mirandola
Director of Student Activities
Message sent June 9, 2020
Graduation Plans for June 30
Greetings Class of 2020 and families!
I hope you are well.
As we shared in an email last week, we are creating a virtual graduation ceremony that will be shared live on June 30 at 7:30 p.m. on our district YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/csd99media. For you to be included, we need photos and videos from you by tonight at 8 p.m. I hope that everyone will contribute.
The virtual ceremony will feature individual slides of each graduate, student speakers, musical performances, candid photos/videos of the Class of 2020, and special messages from Board President Dr. Kupka, Superintendent Dr. Thiele, and me. After the virtual ceremony has finished broadcasting live, it will be available as a standalone video to watch at your convenience.
In addition to the virtual ceremony, we invite all graduates to participate in our in-person stage ceremony on June 30 (rain date July 1). We are excited that the latest guidelines from the health department allow us to give students a chance to walk across a stage in cap and gown and receive a diploma.
Due to the logistics of keeping everyone at a safe distance, we will hold the ceremony in the Main Street parking lot with our school as the backdrop. We will read students’ names as they cross the stage, and a professional photographer will take a picture of each graduate. In addition to walking across the stage, students will sign the Class of 2020 banner, pick up their diploma and cumulative file, and take a photo with a Downers Grove North backdrop.
Here are the guidelines for the event:
Every graduate is allowed to have one car drive through the event. We will not limit the number of people in the car, but the DuPage County Health Department has asked us to remind everyone that they should be from the same household.
The graduate and one person from the car will be allowed to exit the car at designated times. The guest will be allowed to take photos while the graduate signs the banner, walks across the stage, picks up the diploma, and/or poses for a picture in front of the DGN backdrop. All other guests must remain in the car. However, we have designed a traffic flow that will allow everyone in the car to see each portion of the ceremony.
Both the graduate and the person accompanying the graduate outside of the car must wear a face mask. The graduate may remove the mask when crossing the stage and when posing for a photo in front of the backdrop. The guest should leave the mask on at all times.
Graduates should arrive at their assigned time only. We have carefully orchestrated the event so that we can safely get all graduates through the event in a timely manner. Here are the arrival times:
12:00 Abdallah - Barrera
12:15 Barsketis - Buehler
12:30 Bulthuis - Claybour
12:45 Clements - Dennison
1:00 DeSitter - Eubeler
1:15 Faldetta - Gates
1:30 Geist - Gudino
1:45 Haddad - Jachim
(BREAK)
2:30 Jacobsen - Karam
2:45 Karrow - Kuczkowski
3:00 Laffey - Lyght
3:15 Macek - McLean
3:30 Mellstead - Murray
3:45 Nabeel - Papadimitropoulos
4:00 Papp - Poku-Adusei
(BREAK)
4:45 Poole - Rosen
5:00 Rosenberg - Seelinger
5:15 Segrave-Daly - Suarez
5:30 Sumida - Velasco
5:45 Velasquez - Williams
6:00 Witt - Zmola
Any graduate who is unable to attend this event should email Ms. Ruth Schneider at rschneider@csd99.org after July 1 to set up a time to pick up the diploma and cumulative file.
We will send additional details a few days before the events, but we wanted you to know this information now so you can plan accordingly. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Mark Mirandola at mmirandola@csd99.org or me at jschwarze@csd99.org.
We look forward to seeing members of the Class of 2020 and one car of guests on June 30 (rain date July 1)!
Take care,
Janice Schwarze
Principal
Message sent June 3, 2020
Class of 2020 Students and Parents:
We are excited to begin production of the Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Ceremony and present that to you at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, June 30th! We are working with a professional production company to give our seniors a memorable graduation recognition. While we acknowledge that a virtual ceremony isn’t the same as our traditional in-person ceremony, we are hard at work personalizing the virtual ceremony to showcase as many of our students as we can. In order to do this, we need your help! By 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 9th, we need the following from you:
Cap and Gown Photo
When each student has their name read during our virtual ceremony, we will feature a graphic on the screen with the student’s name and picture. If you wish to be featured in your cap and gown, please submit a picture of you in cap and gown using the link below. If we do not receive a cap and gown photo from you we will use your senior portrait picture. It is important that you follow these directions when uploading your file. The file name of your cap and gown photo must follow this format: “StudentLastName_FirstName”. So, if I’m submitting a photo the filename will be: Mirandola_Mark. It’s important that we receive each file like this to help us identify each student.
Please submit your student cap and gown photo here
Tassel Switch Video
During our traditional graduation ceremony, each senior wears their tassel so that it is hanging on the right side of their cap. Then, when instructed to do so after all seniors have received their diploma, graduates move the tassel from the right side of their cap to the left side symbolizing that the student has transitioned from student to graduate. We plan to include a segment in our virtual ceremony featuring students moving their tassel to the left side of their cap. We want to feature you doing this! Don’t forget to smile when you’re moving your tassel in the video; this is what you waited four years to do! Our goal is to use every tassel switch video that is submitted to us. Don’t forget, you are moving the tassel from the right side to the left side of your cap. Have the person recording your video hold the phone horizontally when recording. A special file name is not needed for this video.
Please submit your tassel switch video here
Cap Toss Video
One of the best parts of a graduation ceremony is the traditional cap toss to celebrate the accomplishment! We plan to feature our students tossing their graduation caps in the air at the end of our virtual ceremony. To be part of this, simply record yourself in your graduation gown tossing your cap into the air. Have the person recording your video hold the phone horizontally when recording. Our goal is to use every cap toss video that is submitted to us. Remember, this is an exciting moment in a graduation ceremony, so have fun with it! A special file name is not needed for this video.
Please submit your cap toss video here
Senior Group Photos
During the virtual ceremony, we plan to show a brief photo montage of our seniors to remember the Class of 2020. While we may be limited to the number of photos we are able to feature, we still hope to include as many students as we are able. So, we are looking for each senior to upload 1-2 pictures of them with their DGN senior friends from this past year. A special file name is not needed for these photos.
Please submit 1-2 senior group photos here
20 Seconds of Noise Video
If you have video from the 20 seconds of noise event that took place the evening of Friday, May 22nd, I’d love to possibly feature a few good examples in our virtual ceremony. It could be a video of you making noise or you filming others in the community. A special file name is not needed for this video.
Please submit a 20 seconds of noise video here
A Few Important Notes When Submitting Your Photos & Video
Graduation is a dignified ceremony, so please make sure all photos and videos submitted are appropriate. Delack Media has put together some Tips to Look Your Best on Camera. Please adhere to their media guidelines so we can capture the best and most consistent photos and videos for our virtual graduation ceremony! The deadline to submit your photos and videos is Tuesday, June 9th at 8:00 PM. Please be sure that the photo you submit in your cap and gown follows the filename requirement (StudentLastName_FirstName). Please note, by submitting your media, you are giving us permission to use it in our virtual ceremony. You are not required to submit any of these additional photos or videos. This is intended to be a nice way to personalize the virtual graduation ceremony.
Name Pronunciation
We want to honor our graduates, and their families, by saying their name correctly. In a typical year our readers would be present at graduation practices, and students would have the opportunity to check-in with the readers and confirm pronunciations. Because we do not have that opportunity this year, we have set up two ways you may help us say your name correctly:
- Google Form: Some students/families have already completed this step. If you have not, please FILL OUT THIS FORM.
- Voicemail Recording: We invite you to call 630-320-6843, and record your name (or your child's name) exactly as you hope it will be read during the ceremony. Hearing you pronounce the name will improve our ability to honor your family with a correct pronunciation.
If your name has ever been mispronounced by anyone, assume it might be mispronounced by our readers and help us by completing one or both of the above steps. Please submit name pronunciation recommendations by Monday, June 8th. Thank you.
As for the procedures for June 30th when you come to North to walk across the stage, receive your diploma, and take some photos, we are still working on those details. Be sure to keep this date, as well as the rain date of July 1st, reserved on your calendar. We will send more information as soon as we finalize the event.
We are excited for you to experience the virtual ceremony and have the opportunity to walk across the stage to receive your diploma! The information mentioned in this email is intended to personalize our virtual ceremony. If you are interested in submitted photos or videos, please be sure those are uploaded to the proper Dropbox by Tuesday, June 9th at 8:00 pm. If you have not yet submitted a name pronunciation recommendation, please be sure to do that by the end of the day on Monday, June 8th. As always, if you have questions about anything in this email or anything regarding graduation, contact me at mmirandola@csd99.org.
Mark Mirandola
Director of Student Activities
North High School