Ceremony held in football field
By Angie Landsverk
Weyauwega-Fremont High School’s Class of 2020 had just one request for its July 17 graduation ceremony.
The graduates wanted confetti.
As the first in-person graduation ceremony in the area came to an end Friday evening, they got their confetti.
The students waited for Principal Jodi Alix to get ready to capture the moment.
Katie Bleck was among the first of them to shoot confetti into the air above the high school football field.
The graduates then met their families in the parking lot for a vehicle parade that included several blocks of Weyauwega’s Main Street.
The ceremony took place eight weeks after its originally scheduled date of May 22.
“Good evening, everyone. We made it,” Alix said at the beginning of last Friday’s ceremony.
She surveyed the class last spring, after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in the state.
Forty-eight of the 63 students in this year’s class responded.
Thirteen students wanted a virtual ceremony on May 22, and 35 wanted to wait until July, with the hope of having an in-person graduation.
The school district worked with Waupaca County Public Health to plan the July 17 ceremony.
“All of the preplanning and detailed planning was worth it,” Alix said. “The W-F staff, students, families and community took all necessary measures to help ensure the safety and success of the graduation. Thank you to all.”
Noah Marker appreciated having what he called a proper graduation.
Ethan Feltz thought the high school did a good job, and that it was the right time to hold the ceremony.
Marker is preparing to start an apprenticeship, while Feltz is heading to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to study business administration.
Safety precautions
W-F typically holds its graduation ceremony in the high school gym.
The district moved this year’s ceremony outdoors to the football field.
Each graduate received four tickets for the ceremony.
The requirements also included wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing.
While the ceremony had a different look, the program included many of the usual aspects.
The seniors walked onto the field as “Pomp and Circumstance played,” thanks to Band Director Andrew Schmidt having a recording of the band playing it.
Choral Director Molly Suehs had a recording from earlier in the school year of students singing the national anthem.
Alix said the district was fortunate to have a face-to-face graduation and thanked all who helped put it together.
“We realize this may be non-traditional,” she said.
Alix said that like her, they were happy to be there celebrating together.
Her daughter, Twyla, was the president of this year’s senior class.
This is the first year the district did not recognize a valedictorian and salutatorian at the ceremony.
The class president welcomed all to the ceremony and said the class was grateful to be together for it.
The seniors chose Jason Liegl to speak to them.
It was noted that he was a special teacher to all of them, including Taylor Folk.
She passed away days before the 2019-20 school year began, from complications due to surgery.
Liegl, who teaches math at the high school, mentioned her several times as he spoke to the class.
“I will never forget her passion or her laugh,” he said.
A portrait of Folk was on the stage with a white rose placed in front of it.
The high school posthumously awarded a diploma to her.
Liegl told the Class of 2020 that “true learning will not happen without failure.”
He urged the graduates to see where others are coming from and to know their strengths and weaknesses.
Liegl told them to be role models and to “stay forever strong.”
A few surprises
Among them were a balloon and a flyover by two private pilots.
Alix contacted Brad Hahn for assistance with those ideas.
He is one of her former classmates, and is also a pilot and EAA volunteer.
Alix wondered if he knew someone who could fly an aerial banner.
Hahn did not, but told her he could get a group together to do balloons and a flyover.
The Wild Rose Independent Balloon Society had one balloon on the grounds.
“While there were going to be more, winds were not conducive for a balloon flight or additional planes,” she said. “But it was awesome – regardless.”
Pilots flew two planes over the field.
High school staff members also recorded messages for the graduates.
Some were silly, while others were serious.
The senior slideshow was also part of the ceremony.
“COVID won’t stop what you will and can become,” Alix told the students.