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April 27, 2020

Bandera ISD releases Graduation Ceremony plans

  • Friday, May 22, at 7 p.m. (in the event of rain, the ceremony may need to be postponed) Vehicle parking is scheduled to begin at 6 pm.
  • Hold a "Drive-in Movie Style" graduation ceremony on the property between Alkek and the transportation facility.
  • Each of the 141 graduating seniors will be able to bring in one vehicle (including members of their family). There will be no trailers or overly-large-capacity vehicles allowed.
  • Each family will be issued a unique electronic ticket (through a random drawing) to be printed for admission to park in one assigned parking space (which will be large and distanced from other cars).
  • The property has a natural slope, so vehicles toward the back are at a higher elevation looking downward toward the stage.
  • A large stage will be used to socially distance students and members of the school board and administration.
  • A large concert-style sound system will be used (the sound system may be supplemented with a live radio broadcast through a local radio station).
  • A large screen, movie-style, will be set up to enhance viewing.
  • The traditional BHS Graduation Ceremony will take place including student-led prayers, speeches, turning of the tassel, etc.
  • At the time to receive their diplomas, students will exit their vehicle and move toward the stage to receive their diploma.
  • After receiving the diploma, students will return to their vehicles with their families.
  • The ceremony will be lived-stream for viewing from home or phone/electronic device.
Rehearsal-Thursday, May 21
  • Parking begins at  5:30 p.m., with the actual graduation rehearsal to begin at about 7 p.m.
  • Parking maps, with specific illustrated directions on how and where each vehicle will be parked (by number and by assignment), will be made available to students and parents on Tuesday, May 19.
  • Vehicle descriptions, with license plate numbers, will be due to campus administration by Friday, May 15, at 3 p.m. (more details to follow).
Post-Ceremony Celebration Parade-Immediately following Commencement
  • As the graduates and their families leave the venue, they are asked to turn north and drive through Bandera on Main Street.
  • Graduates are invited to decorate their vehicles for the after-graduation parade.
  • The community is encouraged to come out (along Hwy. 173 and Main Street - depending on guidance by law enforcement), and maintain social distancing while  holding up congratulatory signs, honking horns, waving, etc. Those watching the parade may be asked to remain in their vehicles depending on social distancing protocols in place at that time.
  • Families may want to consider decorating their vehicle and using a pickup truck (with an open bed) or a convertible car for the parade after the ceremony.
  • As graduates and their families have made it down Main Street, that will conclude our festivities.
  • All families are asked to disperse immediately after driving down Main Street.
Other rules regarding vehicles at the Graduation Ceremony
  • Each family will arrive at the ceremony with their 2020 graduate in the vehicle with them.
  • Vehicles are limited to standard-sized cars, pick-ups, or vans (no vehicles with a capacity of more than eight will be permitted). Please realize that this means a limit of seven family members and one graduate in each car.
  • Tickets and vehicles will enter in the Transportation Facility driveway and checked by off-duty police officers.
  • The number of passengers in the vehicle will be limited to the number of factory-installed seats and seatbelts available.