Rain doesn’t dampen HCHS graduation plans

Plans are still on go for graduation Friday night at Raider Stadium in Mt. Airy despite this week’s extremely rainy weather.Tomorrow, approximately 442 graduates are scheduled to walk onto Habersham Central High School’s football field for the milestone event.

HCHS Graduation Coach Andrea Jones says this week’s deluge has not impacted graduation practice or plans. “Our new turf field allows the rain water to drain quickly and turf to dry,” she says.

Last year’s graduation was rained out and had to be held on Saturday. That’s not expected to happen again this year. The forecast calls for rain to subside by Thursday afternoon with the week’s first, full sunny day forecast for graduation day.

READ: Graduation forecast

Graduation is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, May 26th. In case of inclement weather it will be moved to 9 a.m. Saturday, May 27th.

Largest graduating class ever

Jones says 400 students from Habersham Central are expected to receive their diplomas. Another 42 students will graduate from the county school system’s Success Academy. That makes this year’s graduating class the largest ever for the Habersham County School System.

RELATED: HCHS graduation information

Leading the class onto the field for graduation will be this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, Brooke Benfield and Kendall Barclay, respectively.

Benfield earned a 101.156 Grade Point Average. Barclay earned a 100.843 GPA.

Principal McGee’s last HCHS graduation

This will be the fourth and final graduation at Habersham Central for Principal Wes McGee.

READ: BOE launches search for new high school principal

McGee, who took over the job in 2013 after former principal Jim Van Hooser retired from the public school system, has accepted a job in Hall County. He’s been hired as principal of Hall County’s seventh and newest high school. The school, located in Flowery Branch, is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.