Oak Bay High 2020 grad Mara Pappas said she has accepted the fact that grad will be different than expected this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the same as what I had in mind but I鈥檓 viewing this now as this is happening, I can鈥檛 control this,鈥� the 18-year-old said. 鈥淲hat I can control is how I react to it and how my friends and I react to it.鈥�
Mara said some students are having a harder time with the situation than others because they were set on having a traditional ceremony as 鈥渁 final moment鈥� in their school careers.
She said she and a group of seven friends gathered for 鈥渙ur own miniature graduation鈥� on Friday, with a picnic next to Oak Bay Marina while dressed in their grad finery.
They wanted to have an event 鈥渨here we can feel that all of this work we鈥檝e had to do up until now has been worth something,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ny way to celebrate that is a win for me.鈥�
As one of about 315 Oak Bay grads this year, Mara will also be part of a larger celebration this Thursday. Oak Bay parents, led by her mother, Anne, are organizing a series of 鈥減op ups鈥� at the homes of Grade 12 students.
The idea is that grads, with parents at the wheel, will follow a route and have their pictures taken in front of special backdrops.
About a dozen pop-ups will be included, with such themes as 鈥淒r. Seuss 鈥� oh the places you鈥檒l go,鈥� 鈥淢usical chairs鈥� and 鈥淪habby chic.鈥�
Mara said she likes the pop-up idea. Her house is one of the sites and will have a band theme because the school band was a big part of her high-school experience.
As the pop-up celebration shows, graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming a lesson in creativity at high schools around the capital region.
While school districts are offering virtual ceremonies due to concerns about large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools have come up with ideas to add something extra to an occasion that is seen as one of life鈥檚 milestones.
Anne Pappas said it was important to cap the number of stops for students at the Oak Bay event.
鈥淭welve is a very manageable number because we need parents on hand,鈥� Pappas said. 鈥淚t becomes a very big volunteer commitment.鈥�
She said students can dress however they like.
鈥淪o you might see kids in caps and gowns, you might see kids in formal attire 鈥� whatever they feel comfortable wearing.鈥�
Pappas said the pop-up concept arose when the committee鈥檚 usual large block party for grads had to be called off.
鈥淓verything came to a grinding halt, everything was summarily cancelled with COVID and we frantically started shifting gears and working on alternatives.鈥�
The new options were all going to be online, she said.
鈥淎nd then as the 鈥榣oosening up鈥� happened our plans kept changing and changing and changing and changing.鈥�
A vehicle procession had been considered as part of the block party, and it eventually morphed into the pop-up idea, Pappas said.
鈥淏ecause of restrictions, gatherings no more than 50, we have to make sure the cars are in what I鈥檓 calling mini-cavalcades.鈥�
She said locations of the pop ups are being kept under wraps so that there aren鈥檛 too many extra people around and distancing can be maintained. Decoration of vehicles will make them stand out and drivers have to be registered for the event, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty exciting.鈥�
Pappas said her motivation has been to do something special for the students 鈥渁nd make it memorable.鈥�
She said she wants things to be as positive as possible 鈥渂ecause we鈥檝e had three months of people talking about what they don鈥檛 have.鈥�
The awarding of diplomas will be done by school officials with six stages being set up outside the building in two zones on Wednesday and Thursday. The dividing up of students among the stages means that they can have up to six people coming to watch them be acknowledged.
Other schools are also featuring novel ways to give students a send-off to their future.
Reynolds Secondary had a mobile answer to marking graduation last week, with principal Tom Aerts and nine teachers driving around to students鈥� houses 鈥� a portable display in tow 鈥� to hand out school awards.
Esquimalt High held a celebration Saturday with a car parade around the municipality. The community was invited to line the streets and cheer the grads.
Stelly鈥檚 Secondary is having a similar event this Friday. Students in up to 100 vehicles will follow a looped route that takes in Brentwood Bay and Saanichton. Family, friends and the public are expected roadsides.
Stelly鈥檚 staff will be in front of the school spurring the procession on, and council members and district staff will do the same when students pass municipal hall.
Those out cheering will be asked to adhere to social-distancing guidelines and avoid standing in large groups.
Victoria High School鈥檚 Class of 2020 marks graduation beginning Monday with the continuing of a tradition that dates the 1950s. Students will take turns going up to the school attic to sign the wall and leave a message for future grads.
The Vic High R&B Band will perform during the day.
Signings will be spread over three days to accommodate the approximately 185 graduating students.
This will be the last class that graduates from Vic High鈥檚 Fernwood site before it undergoes a major refit and expansion.
In the Sooke School District, an initial decision to offer only online ceremonies through the schools was changed to allow smaller gatherings after a groundswell of opposition from students.
