Possible severe thunderstorms threaten to move Habersham Central’s outdoor graduation ceremony, like this one held last year, indoors.
Friday night 374 Habersham Central High School seniors are scheduled to graduate. The outdoor ceremony is planned for 8 p.m. at Raider Stadium in Mt. Airy. It’s a night that’s been thirteen years in the making for these students but it could be a washout. The forecast is calling for possible severe thunderstorms and school administrators are getting their back-up plan in place.
HCHS Principal Wes McGee says they’re closely monitoring the forecast and will be watching the radar as graduation night approaches. “We will do our best to have graduation on the field if at all possible,” he says. “If it is not possible, we will try to have the ceremony Saturday morning at 9:00am. We will follow the same procedure Saturday morning as we will use Friday night. If we still can not have the ceremony on the field, we will move to the (HCHS) gym.”
If Central’s graduation ceremony is moved indoors Saturday, McGee says overflow crowds will be seated in the auditoriums at both Habersham Central High and the Ninth Grade Academy and the ceremony will be piped into those venues via live video stream.
Administrators proudly reflect on the Class of 2016
While the possibility of a graduation night washout looms large, what looms even larger is the success of this year’s graduates.
Calling the class of 2016 “spectacular” McGee says this year’s seniors have earned over $2 million in scholarships. “I could not be more proud of a graduating class of seniors,” he says. “This is also the first cohort of kids that I have had the pleasure of being principal for all 3 years here at HCHS.”
One proud parent who will be watching it all unfold – whenever it does – is Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper. Cooper’s oldest daughter, Faith, is a member of the Class of 2016. Anticipating that “lifetime” moment when he hands his daughter her diploma, Cooper says, “She will be the first Cooper to graduate from Habersham Central High School, and I cannot think of any other school in the state where I would want to see her graduate from. Faith has had a wonderful experience at Habersham Central. Our High School provides opportunities for students that you simply will not find in other public and private schools.”
Cooper’s pride and sentiment extend to the other 373 seniors he will greet on stage during graduation. They are the first class to have him as their superintendent for all four years of high school. He says, “I look forward to seeing all of the smiling faces at Graduation and to providing a handshake of congratulations to each member of the Class of 2016.”
