Graduation is a wonderful time for parents, families, and seniors. The excitement, joy, and pride that everyone feels at this event is electric and I look forward to it each year.

Graduation is on June 14th at the Memorial Coliseum (more details are in this newsletter) and I look forward to seeing the thousands of family members that will be present.

Seniors have until June 6th @ 3:15PM to turn in those last minute assignments. We have posted this message and I know teachers continue to promote this date in class. Seniors are advised to make every effort to finish strong for many reasons. Our goal is to provide all Seniors the opportunities to walk across the stage, on June 14th.

Congratulations to the Class of '22 for making it this far. Parents, staff, and students have worked very hard to get us to this point and we all deserve a share of the credit for each student’s success.

Principal Drake Shelton

• June 1st Senior Check-out forms distributed and must be returned to bookkeeper by June 7th. All Seniors must complete the checkout process to receive graduation tickets.
  
• June 6th, All Senior Assignments due by 3:15 pm
• June 6th Evening of Excellence, 6:30 PM, Auditorium, (generally for seniors who have received scholarships and/or awards and their parents/guardians)
• June 7th Seniors’ Last Day! Senior Check-out procedures must be completed and forms turned in to the bookkeeper for final checkout. All fees must be paid by this date. Commencement tickets (10) will be distributed. Additional tickets are limited. Students have already had the opportunity to request additional tickets. We will disperse the tickets June 8th - June 10th.
• June 7th, Grad Walk and Senior Picnic, See article below.
• June 14th Graduation Commencement ceremony Practice, Memorial Coliseum, 8:00 am - 10:00 am (arrive by 7:30 am); All seniors are REQUIRED to attend and must provide their own transportation to and from practice (if you are in need of bus tickets to arrive by Tri-Met please see Counseling).
  
• June 14th Graduation Commencement Ceremony, Memorial Coliseum, 5:00 PM; All seniors must arrive by 4:15 pm.

• June 14th Senior All-Night Party, buses will depart from Gresham High School. Please see article later in this newletter. (The Senior All-Night Party is not a school-sponsored function; it is planned and chaperoned by senior parents.)

On June 7th (Seniors' last day of school) our Senior students will participate in a Celebration Walk throughout our school and district. Students should wear their cap and gown if they have them. Students had the choice to let us know what middle school they attended. We will attempt to have them go to their middle school for the walk. We recognize that many students did not attend our feeder schools. If that is the case, they can choose to go with their friends to whichever school. All students need to ride the bus. After the walks Seniors will load the busses and go out to Rooster Rock for the Senior Picnic. There will be lunch served and various activities for them. This is a time for students to socialize with their classmates. SENIORS SHOULD NOT BRING BACKPACKS ON JUNE 7TH. We will have bags for students to store their cap and gown in after the walk while at the picnic. Students will NOT be allowed to drive them selves to the Senior Picnic.

All seniors must meet Gresham Barlow School District graduation requirements in order to participate in commencement. In order to see where your student is in regards to their graduation status you can go to your ParentVue account. By going to the Course History tab it will show your students status. If you have any indication that your student’s academic performance and grades may be placing him/her in jeopardy of not graduating, contact his/her counselor and teachers immediately. You may call (503-674-5500) and/or email. Email addresses are available on the GHS website.

If your student attends the Center for Advanced Learning, we encourage you to contact teachers at CAL or Director, Jessica Gallagher, at 503-667-4978. Twelve-week progress reports will be available through your ParentVue account starting April 27th.

For some students, meeting graduation requirements is one of the first times in their lives that they have had to comply with an absolute requirement. A few seniors continue to believe that somehow an exception will be made for them at the last minute. I assure you, there are no exceptions made for students that do not meet state and District graduation requirements. One of the most difficult tasks that GHS counselors and administrators face is telling parents that their student will not participate in graduation. Please stay apprised of your student’s progress toward graduation (see article entitled Parents Should Monitor Grades in this newsletter)—we don’t want there to be any surprises during the last week of school for seniors.

Remember--- ONLY students who have completed ALL requirements for graduation (including credit requirements, career-related learning experiences and the extended essay) are allowed to receive a diploma and participate in commencement exercises. No exceptions will be made.

The graduating Class of 2022 is required to finish their Career Related Learning (CRLE) and Extended Essay in order to graduate.

As we enter our last 6 weeks of school, it will be imperative that your student check their graduation status with their counselor and through StudentVue and ParentVue (see next article). Questions can also be directed to our testing coordinator Brenda Person. Ms. Person can be reached via phone at (503) 674–5500 or email: person@gresham.k12.or.us

Over the next several weeks the auto dialer will be calling all students missing graduation requirements. Many students still have not finished career related learning activities (2 required), or extended essay. If you have a question about these requirements please email or call your student’s counselor, assistant principal or Brenda Person.

Senior check out forms will be available for pickup on June 1st. Forms are available in the bookkeeper’s office. These must be completed, signed and returned to the bookkeeper by June 7th, 2022. Seniors will need to turn in the following items during checkout days:

All outstanding fees must be paid prior to graduation. Students that still owe fees at the end of the year will not be permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony. Call our bookkeeper at 503-674-5518 to receive an update regarding fees that your student owes.

Gresham Barlow School District will honor the Senior Class of 2022 by turning the lights on in Stapleton Field (Gresham Football field) for 22 minutes on Friday nights.

Time: 8:22 PM - 8:44 (22 minutes)

Days: Each Friday in June until Graduation

The Gresham-Barlow School District recognizes the following guidelines and expectations with regard to the graduation decorum / adornments / cords permitted during the ceremony:

The GBSD honors policies and practices that recognize the diversity of students and families to promote cultural inclusivity and equity. We fully support policies and practices that promote cultural autonomy and give students the ability to wear items of cultural significance honoring their unique and diverse cultures. For example, some African Americans wear African kente cloths, some Mexican Americans wear a serape, and some Muslim women wear a hijab. When centering the graduation needs of American Indian students and their families, a cultural practice for many is the wearing of culturally significant items such as eagle feathers, beaded caps, tribal insignias, moccasins and stoles during ceremonies (see House Bill 2052 for proposed legislation to require this allowance).

Acceptable guidelines regarding “appropriate decorum and safety” at graduation are:

• Senior students are expected to wear appropriate dress attire.

• Senior students and members of the audience are asked to be respectful of those who are speaking and performing during the ceremony. Applauds are appropriate; catcalls and booing are not. Do not bring or use items that will distract from the ceremony such as air horns, beach balls, etc.

• Senior students are allowed to wear school-sanctioned, commercially purchased academic honor cords, sashes, or medals that have been earned by participating in qualifying activities. Decorative adornments to the graduation cap or gown are allowed as long as they are consistent with dress code. Qualifying activities are those which are academically related and under the umbrella of a national organization. The following school-based organizations qualify for honor cords/sashes/medals:

• Associated Student Body Officers

• AVID

• Center for Advanced Learning

• College Possible

• CTE Completers

• DECA

• Foreign Language National Honor Society

• Instrumental & Choral Music

• International Baccalaureate Full Diploma Candidates

• Scholars of Distinction Diploma Recipients

• MEChA

• MESA

• National Forensics League

• National Honor Society

• Renaissance Seniors

• School Newspaper editors

• Thespians

• TRiO

• Yearbook

School Administrators are responsible to carry out all School Board policies. Administrators have the authority to approve or disapprove graduation adornments in order to be consistent with GBSD dress code. Senior students and members of the audience are expected to comply with this policy. Action will be taken should this policy be violated during our graduation ceremony.

In accordance with Oregon Department of Education “Every Student Belongs” guidance the GBSD prohibits the use or display of any symbols of hate, including at a minimum the noose, symbols of neo-Nazi ideology and the battle flag of the Confederacy, on school grounds or in any program, service, school or activity where the program, service, school or activity is financed in whole or in part by moneys appropriated by the Legislative Assembly except where used in teaching curriculum that is aligned the Oregon State Standards.

We are approaching the time of year when seniors are actively planning for graduation events. One of the most common proposals is the alleged “annual graduation trip” to Mexico or other locations that “everyone else” gets to go on. Please be very thorough in researching any package graduation trips before agreeing to let your son/daughter go. In no way does Gresham High School, nor the Gresham Barlow School District, endorse or sponsor ANY kind of graduation trip. We do not allow announcements or posters to be posted, nor do we allow recruitment meetings to take place on our campus. Typically a company will promise a “free” trip to a senior as long as they can sign up ten of their friends (who pay) to go along. It is advised that you check out these companies very carefully before allowing your son/daughter to go. Experience tells us that there is too often a lack of the promised supervision on these kinds of trips. Inadequate supervision can lead to easy access to alcohol and drugs, inappropriate sexual activity and the potential for serious problems to develop miles away from parental support. If you decide to allow your student to attend a senior trip, whether it be local, national or international, we encourage you to know everything you can about where your student is going, who they are going with and what is going to happen once they arrive at their destination.