SHS graduation to have new setup at Porcupine Stadium

To accommodate growth, the setup of this year’s Springtown High School graduation ceremony at Porcupine Stadium is expected to change.

Principal Melissa Hutchison said the feedback received after last year’s ceremony was that the amount of space for graduation attendees to sit was running out.

“I've been meeting with our leadership team on campus,” Hutchison said during last month’s school board meeting. “We've been talking a lot about how can we adjust so that we can still honor and be able to continue at the venue of our stadium and continue that legacy but also adjust to the growing class sizes and just the growing amount of people who do want to attend graduation without yet having to limit number of tickets or things like that.”

SHS campus leaders voted on changes that would include placing the stage on the south side of the field with students seated on the field facing the stage, according to the report to the school board. The graduates will be split into two groups sitting on the east and west sides of the field, respectively, and staff members will sit behind them, unless they are row leaders.

On graduation day, students are expected to enter the stadium from the north side by the visitor’s bleachers, according to the report. To receive their diplomas, the graduates will stand up one row at a time and line up near the west side of the stage. They will then cross the stage and exit on the east side.

“It's going to be a beautiful setup, and it already is a beautiful evening, but we're just going to add that extra touch,” Hutchison said of the stage arrangement.

Family members and friends of the graduates will sit on the bleachers, both on the home side and the visitor side. Opening the visitor side for seating means that the number of family members and friends attending the ceremony will not be limited, according to the report.

Graduates are encouraged to let their families know what side of the stadium they will be seated on after attending graduation practice, so their families can plan accordingly. However, the graduates’ seating may change if a student is late or does not attend the ceremony at the last minute, according to the report.

Hutchison said notifying parents on where their graduates are sitting is part of the plan. She also said the graduation team is working on making sure the sound projection is clear and works well with the new setup.

“Everything we do is for that time,” Hutchison said about graduation. “We want to make sure that night is very special and that those kids get that awesome experience.”