The buzz of graduation season is in the air as San Benito County high schools prepare for their upcoming commencements that will start to take place this week.
The San Benito High Class of 2021 participated in graduation practice on June 2 to get a feel of what the processional will be like before the real ceremony on Friday.
Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum said in a recent newsletter that the school will host two on-campus graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021 at the campus multi-purpose field on June 4.
Seniors whose last name starts with the letters A-J are in the first ceremony, which begins at 8:30am. Those with last names that start with K-Z will begin at 12:30 pm.
The school announced that Colby Robinson will present the welcome address and Senior Class President Kaiya Dickens will give the senior address.
Faith Fernandez, Robin Johnson and Jaya Waller each will present a co-valedictory address before Principal Adrian Ramirez certifies the Class of 2021.
Scholar-Athletes of the Year Sofia Lemos and Mack Richards will lead the tassel change.
The graduates should’ve received tickets for their guests. Tennenbaum said the school requires that all entrants must have a ticket, including toddlers and infants.
According to Tennenbaum, they had to restrict the number of attendees at the graduation due to the California Department of Public Health guidance.
The school is also not allowing real flowers, balloons or outside food and beverage except for water. They said that all fireworks, firecrackers, cherry bombs or incendiary devices of any sort are strictly forbidden.
Other restricted items include silly string, flower leis, confetti, gum, noise-makers, beach balls and other disruptive devices. Tennenbaum said that disruptive and dangerous behavior will be cause for removal by the security personnel.
For those who can’t make it the school will broadcast the commencements live on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/HuNpv2cinZk. The links to the ceremonies will also be available at San Benito’s website, Facebook page and Baler News on Twitter.
Anzar will hold drive-thru procession
Anzar High Principal Angela Crawley said in an email that the Class of 2021 will participate in a drive-thru procession on June 11 at 5pm in downtown San Juan Bautista.
The parade will begin at San Juan Elementary School and end at Carl Martin Luck Memorial Library on Second Street.
It’s similar to last year’s commencement when graduates of the Class of 2020 were driven down Third Street as family members and friends cheered from the sidewalk.
