Deprived of their graduation celebration by COVID-19, Lawrence High School’s Class of 2020 will gather together – in person – for a scaled down graduation event July 29 at the Lawrence High School football field.
About 165 members of the Class of 2020 have indicated they will attend the 10 a.m. ceremony, school district officials said. After lining up outside the Commons, they will walk across campus to the football field.
Lawrence High School held a virtual graduation ceremony June 19. Since Gov. Phil Murphy modified the executive order that limits the number of persons who may gather, school district officials decided to hold a smaller version of the graduation ceremony.
“We are not having all of the speeches again, since we already presented them at the virtual ceremony. This will be more of an opportunity for the students to gather safely one last time as a group,” said Lawrence High School Principal David Adam.
There will be a chance for Valedictorian Ian Wang and Salutatorian Tucker Simpson to wish their classmates well as they move on in life, Adam said. Senior Class President Nabil Hachicha will present the class gift.
Then, each senior will be called by name to walk across the stage, Adam said.
The June 19 virtual graduation ceremony, which was shown on the high school’s website, featured photos of each graduating senior. Adam offered some parting words to the soon-to-be graduates, as did Superintendent of Schools Ross Kasun and school board president Kevin Van Hise, who is also a Lawrence High School graduate.
As a surprise, several notable Lawrence High School graduates appeared in the video to offer congratulations to the Class of 2020 – from retired professional football players Brett Brackett and Todd Brunner, to Toronto Blue Jays Coach John Schneider.
Comedian, writer, producer and activist Jon Stewart – who was known as Jonathan Leibowitz when he graduated from Lawrence High School – also offered congratulations.
Kim Hatchett, executive director of Morgan Stanley, and playwright, author and producer Ifa Bayeza of the Class of 1968 – the first graduating class at Lawrence High School – also offered congratulations to the newest crop of alumni.
In the weeks leading up to graduation, seniors were featured in a Senior Spotlight slideshow on the Lawrence High School website, and the senior awards ceremony and athletic awards ceremony also were posted on the website.
Each senior received a “Proud of Our Senior” lawn sign, and Project Graduation raffled off prizes that ranged from gift cards to flat-screen television sets. The high school’s mascot, Larry the Cardinal, toured the town to visit the seniors.
