I wonder if it has ever rained in the history of our graduation.
No more classesā¦ Tomorrow is award ceremony. Next week the Seniors practice walking while 9-11 take finals. Convocation next Thur. and Graduation a week from Saturday and then we are doneā¦ next Senior trips. Fingers crossed.
@chillkitty Both my kids gave speeches at the end, one at grad and one at the awards assemble. The grad one was lightly edited by the admin as well and not seen by me. It was fine. The boy kept it brief and it was a hit.
The awards assembly speech was not screened by anyone and kid kept it under wraps. It was a major smash, legendary. I was so surprised and impressed.
You are right, there is the potential for trouble, but there could also be a nice surprise.
Thanks, @Lizardly, for your reassuring words! Iām in a better frame of mind today and know D will honor the occasion with sincere thoughts and words that are her own. Iāll be proud no matter what and will enjoy the surprise!
@youcee - No, weāre SoCal all the way (although one of us will soon be in the Bay Area :P). Yours is going to UCLA, no?
If youāre in/near Orange County another really fun cultural thing we used to like to do is go to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach.
@LoveTheBard Yes, heās going to UCLA. He knows a few kids who will be joining your D up north.
Graduation was indoors. No rain but we almost had snow. We had a snow storm two days before graduation. Kids were going to camp out at the soccer field but had to pack up tents as hail and snow moved in.
Some kids went to A Basin in robe and skis and took grad photos on top of slopes in snow.
Aspen is open for skiing this memorial day weekend. 
I think A Basin will be open for Fourth of July skiing this year.
@mamaedefamilia Glad youāre all feeling better! I also booked tickets for move in and fall break and feel like the time is flying; still have to book hotels, transport, etc.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!
I ike the idea of heading to the mountains in the grad robe @payn4ward!
When I graduated we went down to the yacht club and took out the dinghy for a slow ride around the harbor with our robes on. We had 3 dinghies filled with about a dozen friends and a loud horn. We grabbed some food at the club after and headed out to a party. Good times.
When I graduated you turned in your robe and got your diploma at tables right outside graduation.
D17ās school, they buy their caps and gowns, so itās hers to keep forever (as it was at mine). This means that if D19 wants to wear pale blue for her graduation (though Iām almost certain she wonāt), she wouldnāt have to buy a new one.
We are still about 2 weeks from graduation, but the stress is mostly lifted!
DS went to Maker Faire Bay Area with the seniors in his engineering program. Things went well enough. They got some large number of Editorās Choice blue ribbons and Conan OāBrien stopped by their tent (but DS didnāt recognize him). They got a few breaks from explaining their projects to see other parts of the fair. They were hoping the Mythbusters would stop by, but no such luck. I got to meet @CA1543 and her son! 
Weāve done the senior honors night and the local scholarship foundation ceremony. So we are practiced āsitters and clappersā up to the 2-hour level.
In addition to the actual graduation, he still has the āSenior Diploma Ceremonyā for the HS engineering program along with a showcase of the work they did. We are a little salty about the date change for this event that made it conflict with his trip to Las Vegas (UNLV, not the strip) for a math competition heās gone to every year.
Heās already taken the Econ final, so I think his only assignment left is to give a 15-minute Ted Talk style presentation in English. Besides returning textbooks, I donāt really know what they will do with next week.
DS didnāt apply to give a graduation speech. Iāve heard several of them are usually tearjerkers about overcoming things like parents in prison or dealing with sorrow over friends who died. I hope they choose some upbeat or funny ones, too.
Football tickets: Hah! Unbeaten since 1976! (no team since then)
@Ynotgo Seems like the colleges your son goes to have long unbeaten streaks. I wish heād gone to Cal, we could use that kind of lucky charm.
Big week for DS. Turned 18, last day of classes, and last final today. <:-P
Val and Sal are announced on the day of the graduation. Neither make a speech. School ranks but does not publish, except for Val/Sal at the very end. Rankings are available to colleges only, if necessary. Not sure if any students will be speaking during the ceremony. Would be something Iād enjoy.
Lol, @youcee!
I finally made reservations to the see the Eclipse on Aug. 21! DS17 and I are going to see it in southern Idaho. He doesnāt have to be at college until Sept. 17, so weāll have a leisurely trip. DH and DS21 are staying home, because his first day of high school is the same day as the eclipse. >:P
My daughter graduated today! The ceremony was beautiful - held outdoors and a lovely day for it. Now all I need to do is make it through the party tomorrowā¦
And weāre done hereā¦
D '17 graduated yesterday. The weather was crummy, but the ceremony was nice. Itās amazing how fast you can read 950+ names! Ceremony completed in about 90 mins.
We had a nice Italian lunch before and a nice Chinese dinner afterward. Shared graduation party with her cousin, my brother hosting, in a few weeks.
No senoritis, though. 3 A+s, 2 As, 1A-.
In other news, Sā20 pulled up his grades enough to keep the 3.0-3.5 GPA thread for 2020 grads in play. Suffered two stress fractures in his back in lax though, so I guess I should cut him some slack.
@DaveN congrats on Dās grades and graduation and condolences on your sonās stress fractures.
Thatās a lot of names. Dās graduation took the same amount of time and there were only 65 kids!
@Dave_N, Itās hard to imagine 950 kids in a class, but impressive that they were able to get through the ceremony so quickly! Sorry to hear your about your sonās LAX injuries. I hope he recovers quickly.
I gave the salutatorian speech at my HS. I paraphrased the Gettysburgh Address. Clocked in at under 2 minutes.