Satellite view of Poland Regional High School. Google Maps

POLAND — For the 118 seniors graduating this year from Poland Regional High School in the middle of a pandemic, commencement is going to be more than a little different from the norm.

But at least the whole class will have a chance to be together in the same place at the same time.

Poland Regional High School Principal Cari Medd Poland Regional High School

“We did the best we could to try to keep as many of our traditions in place as possible so the students feel as if it is as close to a real graduation as possible,” Principal Cari Medd said Friday. “We are looking forward to it.”

Medd said that on Saturday, June 6, students and families “will arrive in their cars, get checked in” and then be directed to the student parking lot.

Using both a speaker system and FM radio, recordings of the band playing ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ and the choir singing the national anthem will be played, she said.

On a stage, senior Kayla Ogden will serve as the master of ceremonies, introducing each speaker during the ceremony.

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Student body President Olivia Bell, another senior, will welcome the class, followed by speeches by Logan Lajoie, the valedictorian, and Colin Marquis-Bouton, the salutatorian, Medd said.

Medd said small groups of students, organized through the school’s advisory classes, will be called up to receive their diplomas and walk across the stage.

“We will be livestreaming the ceremony for those that can’t attend and we will also be filming it to be posted later,” she added.

The $5,800 cost to pay for the staging, lights and sound will be covered by Project Graduation money raised by families in expectation of a more normal end to senior year. There wasn’t anything in the regular budget for it, Medd said, so she’s grateful for the committee’s willingness to help.

“Once it became clear that no Project Grad activities could take place due to the state restrictions, they felt that since the money was going to the kids to celebrate their accomplishment it was a good investment,” she said.

Medd said LA Music Productions was hired to do the extra work to make the ceremony possible.

If it rains June 6, the ceremony will be held the following day.

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