Wareham High School seniors will celebrate their graduation and prom in person in August, as 80 percent of seniors told the school they would rather delay the big day than go virtual.

Students will also celebrate with a socially-distanced parade early in June. 

Principal Scott Palladino said that seniors were asked whether they would prefer to have a graduation parade on June 5, a virtual graduation on June 5, or a traditional graduation on Aug. 7. 

Palladino said  “the students overwhelmingly chose to delay their graduation, with eighty percent of the students choosing this option.”

He added that the school is hoping that it will be able to have a traditional graduation on Spillane Field. August 7 is the latest date that all of the seniors will still be available. 

If it is still unsafe to hold a graduation ceremony because of the pandemic, the school will be forced to have an alternative form of celebration on Aug. 7. Palladino said that the school will make a final decision by July 24.

If it is deemed safe to meet in person, “Senior Week” will start with the promenade at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 3, at the high school auditorium. Prom will follow at 7 p.m. at  The Cape Club in East Falmouth.

Scholarships will be awarded at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, in the high school auditorium. 

Graduation is scheduled to start at Spillane Field at 6:30 p.m. on that Friday, with a rain date of Saturday, Aug. 8.

In the more immediate future, there will be a Cap and Gown Parade on June 4 at 2 p.m. Seniors will meet at the Train Depot on Merchants Way, and then walk by the Narrows Bridge, go along Main Street onto Chapel Street, to Marion Road, and then onto Viking Drive. The police will be there to make sure everyone is safe. Social distancing must be practiced at all times and all participants outside of their cars should wear masks. 

Wareham High School seniors also traditionally take a “senior walk” through their old middle and elementary schools before graduation. Although they couldn’t physically take that walk down memory lane this year, they still got a warm welcome from teachers and faculty in the form of a twelve-minute long video compilation. 

The “virtual senior walk” features Wareham Public School teachers, staff, and students congratulating seniors for their accomplishments. As music plays in the background, well wishers wave signs reading “Congrats Vikings Class of 2020,” “Wherever you go, go with all your heart,” and the classic “Congrats Grads.” 

The video was shared with  seniors on Sunday, May 17, before their last week of classes.

Palladino said that while “you can’t replicate the actual event” of the senior walk, he thought the video was “a nice way to celebrate the seniors on their last week of school.

He said the video format had the added benefit of including a “better cross-section” of school staff, because custodians, cafeteria workers, and other faculty were able to participate. The traditional senior walks are mostly attended by teachers.

Palladino said that the video compilation was started by Minot Forest Assistant Principal Teri DeFilippo, and was edited together by Christian Fernandes of WCTV.

To watch the full video, go to https://warehamondemand.eduvision.tv/default.aspx.