6/15/2020
Class of 2020 Students and Families,
I hope this message continues to find you safe and healthy! I continue to be thankful for the respect, resilience, and engagement you have provided us as we have navigated an emotional and challenging time for the past few months. Class of 2020, I am proud of each one of you and the strength you have shown.
Although the school year has officially ended, there are three important milestone events that we postponed with the hope that more time would improve our ability to hold these events. As we look forward to our two dates for Prom, Senior Honors Ceremony and Graduation in July, I need to update everyone on the decisions and alternative plans we have made.
What was and still is the most important part of the planning for our Prom, Senior Honors Ceremony and Graduation is that we follow the recommendations from the Illinois State Board of Education, State of Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health, Lake County Health Department and law enforcement in regards to social distancing, group size, etc. to keep everyone safe. Below is the status for these events:
PROM: We have canceled any plans to host Prom this year out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff. Given current gathering restrictions and social distancing guidelines provided by the State of Illinois, the ability to have a dance is not feasible while maintaining a safe environment.
Student Leadership will be reaching out to the Class of 2020 with plans to hold a virtual Prom Court election.
SENIOR HONOR CELEBRATION: The in-person ceremony planned for July 8, 2020, at MHS has been canceled. With building capacity limitations given the anticipated social distancing guidelines in July, holding this event in the school building is not feasible.
Therefore, a commemorative presentation has been created and will be released at 10:00 a.m. on July 12, 2020. This presentation will be posted on the MHS website.
GRADUATION: The in-person graduation ceremony planned for July 12, 2020, at the Sears Centre has been canceled. After consulting with representatives from the Sears Centre and understanding their building capacity limitations given the anticipated social distancing guidelines in July, we know that having a graduation ceremony with graduates and guests is not feasible. We would have only been allowed to have our graduates in the facility and no ability to have guests in the arena. We determined this was not an option we wanted to pursue.
However, we have developed an alternate plan for graduation so we can still celebrate the Class of 2020 on July 12, 2020. We know that we have asked families to reserve the July 12, date on their calendars and want to be considerate of those that have made arrangements around this date. Waiting until then will also be helpful for us to confirm as many candidates in the Class of 2020 as graduates and make sure that we provide the support needed to those students that have been unfairly impacted by our transition to eLearning.
We have reviewed the alternative types of in-person ceremonies allowed by the Illinois State Board of Education. Based on those options, I feel that we have a great plan to provide a safe environment for a graduating class of around 480 students and provide a memorable event to creatively celebrate and honor Mundelein High School’s Class of 2020.
Class of 2020 Alternate Graduation Plan and Celebration for July 12, 2020:
Please be aware that we are still finalizing some details and timelines for July 12, and will provide more information the week of June 29. We will provide updates, timelines for the day, safety guidelines, and/or reminders for our alternative graduation plan so that we can work together to provide a safe environment for our graduation celebration. This is a summary of the events we are planning for on July 12, 2020:
- We will host a drive-thru “parade-style” graduation celebration on the Mundelein High School Campus between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to celebrate our graduates. Families will be allowed one vehicle per graduate and will be given a designated time frame (times communicated the week of June 29) based on their last name to help with traffic flow in our parking lot. We are planning for the following activities:
-Allowing our staff an opportunity to cheer on our graduates.
-Graduates have their photo taken in their cap and gown, honor cords, diploma etc.
-Graduates have their name read while “crossing a stage”.
-Graduates will have a professional photograph taken. Families will be given one free download of the photograph and the opportunity to purchase more photographs from VIP.
- We ask that our families take time to celebrate and honor their graduate(s) on this day in their own unique format at their residence and post on social media. #mundypride.
- The Class of 2020 Commemorative Graduation Video will be released on our website at 10:00 a.m. The video will remain on the MHS website until August 10, 2020.
- Photos and videos of graduates: As seniors have their cap, gown and tassels, MHS is requesting the following items from each graduate:
-A photo of the graduate in a cap, gown and tassels. The photo should be from the waist up.
-A video of the graduate tossing his or her cap into the air (should not be longer than eight seconds)
-If the graduate decorates his or her cap, please send a photo of the decorated cap and the face of the graduate.
-Submit photos and videos HERE!
-Submissions are due by June 20, 2020 (deadline extended).
I very much look forward to celebrating the Class of 2020 throughout the day on July 12, 2020, and appreciate your patience as we have navigated these challenging times.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you and As Always, Go Mustangs!
Dr. Anthony Kroll, Principal
#mundypride