Masks optional for May 29 ceremony
By Greg Seubert
Little Wolf High School’s upcoming graduation ceremony will be held outdoors later this month.
The Manawa School Board had directed Middle School/High School Principal Dan Wolfgram to return to the board May 3 with options for the graduation ceremony, as well as three other upcoming events.
All four events received the board’s approval at a special meeting.
Wolfgram presented the board with three options for graduation, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 29. Two of them called for the ceremony to be held outdoors on the football field, while a third called for the ceremony to be held in the middle school/high school gymnasium.
The board voted 6-0, with board member Russ Hollman absent, to approve one of the two outdoors options and also added an amendment that makes face coverings voluntary.
Under the approved plan, each of the Class of 2021’s 62 seniors will be allowed to have 10 guests in attendance.
Graduates will sit in the bleachers and be socially distanced, while 12-by-12-foot quadrants will be marked on the field to indicate specific household pods. All families are asked to furnish their own lawn chairs for seating.
Students with the distinction of Summa Cum Laude will be allowed to reserve household pods first, while all other students will reserve pods using a lottery system.
The plan’s general expectations for students, staff and guests include:
• Senior families will be provided a copy of the Daily COVID-19 Screening Form in advance and are asked not to attend the ceremony if illness is identified.
• If a person has forgotten a mask, some will be provided at no cost. Once a family is stationary in their assigned household pod, masks may be removed. If at any time movement occurs outside of the household pod, masks must be worn. Anyone unable to wear a mask per the guidelines will not be permitted to attend.
• Guests should utilize the high school parking lot on the west end of the facility.
• Wristbands arc required for admission and a maximum of 10 will be mailed to families prior to the event.
• Families will check in at the entrance/ticket booth to the football field.
• Bathrooms will be accessible to the public using Door H9 and following the signs to the restrooms located inside the upstairs locker rooms.
Waupaca County Health Officer Jed Wohlt is recommending that large gatherings continue to be held outdoors.
“With end-of-school year events such as graduation being planned, it is important to continue to utilize guidance available from the CDC and Wisconsin Department of Health Services to help provide safe environments for these events, as we continue to experience COVID-19 activity in our communities,” he wrote in an April 27 to local school officials. “Waupaca County Public Health recommends, when possible, to hold any gathering or event outside, as the outside environment provides a much-lower risk of COVID-19 transmission. When planning for any event or gathering, we recommend following CDC guidance.”
The board also approved plans for a sixth-grade, seventh- and eighth-grade and high school choir concert on Sunday, May 16; a sixth-grade, seventh- and eighth-grade and high school band concert on Sunday, May 23; and an eighth-grade recognition event on Thursday, June 3.