BCSC plans in-person, outdoor graduation ceremonies on modified dates

Wooden mallets for striking a bell are lined up on a table during makeshift commencement ceremony for graduating seniors at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Graduation seniors at Columbus East stuck a large bell to mark their graduation. Commencement ceremonies in Columbus were canceled due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Students and their families were invited to their respective schools to participate in makeshift ceremonies. Virtual commencement ceremonies will be held online of the day of the graduation dates for each school. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. has announced plans to hold in-person, outdoor graduation ceremonies for its three high schools, which have more than 800 graduating seniors between them.

Superintendent Jim Roberts announced some of the details at Monday’s board meeting, and the school corporation later posted an announcement on both its website and social media.

As a result of moving the festivities outside, the ceremonies have been rescheduled to provide rain dates and times, if needed. All three graduations will be livestreamed on BCSC’s YouTube channel.

Per the school announcement, the ceremonies are now scheduled as follows:

  • Columbus Signature Academy New Tech: Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. on the Columbus East High School football field. In the case of poor weather, the event would be moved back to May 28 at 7 p.m., which was its originally scheduled date and time.
  • Columbus East: May 29 at 9 a.m. on the East football field. In the case of poor weather, the event would be moved to 2 p.m. or an evening time, which any time between 5-8 p.m. (East’s graduation was originally scheduled for May 29 at 10 a.m.)
  • Columbus North: May 29 at 11 a.m. on the Columbus North football field. In case of poor weather, the event would be moved to 4 p.m. or any evening time, which could be any time between 5-8 p.m. (North’s graduation was originally scheduled for May 29 at 1 p.m.)

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.