Graduation 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the cord colors listed in the graduation ceremony booklet? Will the booklet tell guests that Larlo's medal and cord colors indicate he earned a seal of biliteracy, completed financial math, and was national honor society?

Why? Does anyone really care?

Then why even print that ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too many speeches.
Maybe just have Principal, Class President and one keynote speaker. Overload for high school graduation.

+1
At one graduation, each class student gov association member spoke. Too long. Who creates the format and decides who speaks?

My daughter‘s graduation last week each member of the student government spoke. Nobody spoke too long. Everybody was relatively brief.

Still. Why do each of them need to speak no matter how long it was? Getting to the podium and back to seat even if it's on the stage takes minutes. Tighten up the schedule, fewer speeches, call names correctly, have one song not multiple and be done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too many speeches.
Maybe just have Principal, Class President and one keynote speaker. Overload for high school graduation.

+1
At one graduation, each class student gov association member spoke. Too long. Who creates the format and decides who speaks?

The senior class sponsor and AP.

[Anonymous]

Cringiest was a couple of teachers who had no students graduating in the ceremony hanging out outside the arena, a little too close to the families trying to take photos. It was very odd, sus and relatives were weirded out. Ick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoever announced students' names before they came onto the stage did horrific jobs calling names despite students phonetically writing their names to be used by the announcer. Rushed too. If you can't even read off a piece of paper, don't do the job of calling out names. Not everyone's name is an easy John Doe. Embarrassing to hear in this particular county.

Which school?

Does.Not.Matter.What school.
It could apply to any setting actually. If you don't know how to say someone's name, ask them how you pronounce it. Maybe it's hard to get it right which is understood. But when students have written it out for them, and they are still so off?

At our ceremony, the announcers were several teachers from the world languages department, and they did a great job.

That’s cool. I might know the school PP referenced. Students announced names. I think it was a high pressure situation for them.

Why have students announce names? Isn't it their own graduation? Can't they just sit back and relax on their day? Outsource that job if Admin and teachers are tied up with other graduation logistics which no doubt graduation is a lot to manage.

Some kids actually like it and find it an honor. Sit back and relax is a weird comment if you actually know graduating teens.

Then honor each name. Practice. Don't rush.

Yep, imagine how a name like Ashley which is easy to say is pronounced "Ass-she" What a sad way to end your k-12 education.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Maybe if College Park and DAR didn't charge the county like 3x what UMBC is charging then we wouldn't have to make the switch. With all the budget talks going on, do we really want to be spending over a quarter of a million just to host graduations?

Mc has space and Mcps gives them a small fortune. Or, the field. You are right, we should spend umbc either.

MC is a good option in my opinion. They have a huge space with an air conditioned tent in a reasonably accessible part of the county. Lots to like about it.

I’m not sure why it doesn’t seem to work out.

Politics.

Bad planning? In other words, typical MCPS. I can’t think of any other school district that spends so much money to do graduations at such an inconvenient location out of the county.

This thread is amusing to me because two years ago I started a thread saying I was bummed out about driving so far to go to a really impersonal location in a county/place we had no connection to and at a time that felt really uncelebratory, and everyone mocked me as a fragile snowflake. Obviously we all survived but I wouldn’t say it was a particularly cherished memory for my graduate or us and I didn’t invite any family members to take a whole day off work and leave their homes at the crack of dawn to get to Baltimore county for the graduation. It was just a very “whatever” experience for all involved.

Welcome to DCUM where everyone is mocked for everything. But I can assure you that many many parents are very unhappy to go to UMBC for graduation when MoCo alternatives exist.

Name the MoCo alternative that exists and can hold all HS graduations. Go on.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how they decide which school gets which day and time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how they decide which school gets which day and time?

In the past, principals had a drawing for spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too many speeches.
Maybe just have Principal, Class President and one keynote speaker. Overload for high school graduation.

+1
At one graduation, each class student gov association member spoke. Too long. Who creates the format and decides who speaks?

My daughter‘s graduation last week each member of the student government spoke. Nobody spoke too long. Everybody was relatively brief.

Still. Why do each of them need to speak no matter how long it was? Getting to the podium and back to seat even if it's on the stage takes minutes. Tighten up the schedule, fewer speeches, call names correctly, have one song not multiple and be done!

I disagree. The student speakers are the best. Magruder’s SGA brilliantly roasted their administrator even looking up her high school quote and making allusions to the fighting rings and thanking NBC news and specifically the schools security team. It was so well crafted. I’m not doing them justice here. See it for yourself. Truly impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cringiest was a couple of teachers who had no students graduating in the ceremony hanging out outside the arena, a little too close to the families trying to take photos. It was very odd, sus and relatives were weirded out. Ick.

??? Aren't all teachers invited to attend every year? If they don't have current students graduating, they probably have former students graduating, and I know that my daughter, for one, would love to see her old teachers again at her graduation. Especially all her math teachers, with whom she has a particular affinity.

You're totally out of line, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cringiest was a couple of teachers who had no students graduating in the ceremony hanging out outside the arena, a little too close to the families trying to take photos. It was very odd, sus and relatives were weirded out. Ick.

Some may have taught the kids in earlier years or were coaches or other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too many speeches.
Maybe just have Principal, Class President and one keynote speaker. Overload for high school graduation.

+1
At one graduation, each class student gov association member spoke. Too long. Who creates the format and decides who speaks?

My daughter‘s graduation last week each member of the student government spoke. Nobody spoke too long. Everybody was relatively brief.

Still. Why do each of them need to speak no matter how long it was? Getting to the podium and back to seat even if it's on the stage takes minutes. Tighten up the schedule, fewer speeches, call names correctly, have one song not multiple and be done!

I disagree. The student speakers are the best. Magruder’s SGA brilliantly roasted their administrator even looking up her high school quote and making allusions to the fighting rings and thanking NBC news and specifically the schools security team. It was so well crafted. I’m not doing them justice here. See it for yourself. Truly impressive.

Ours were terrible.

[Anonymous]

Whenever I’m at one of these all I think is: San Dimas High School Football RULES!

[Anonymous]

Why do all the high schools get a two hour block? WJ graduates more kids than most mcps high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do all the high schools get a two hour block? WJ graduates more kids than most mcps high schools.

It's 2 hours on paper but actually 2.5 hrs