I know it seems like it's years off in the future, but our kids will be Seniors one day. I am sending this now as there can be confusion about the many activities that take place at the end of Senior Year, and because planning must begin soon for our Senior Party, I thought I would attempt to explain some of it now.
And knowing that you will have questions regarding the Senior Party (and fundraising), a Senior Party Committee meeting for interested parents is scheduled for Monday, October 27th in the Commons at Newport High School at 7:00 p.m. (More information below).
Julie Rooney
PTSA Liaison Class of 2011
-The Senior Party
-Baccalaureate
-Prom & Graduation
-Senior Awards Night
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The Senior Party
The Senior Party is 100% sponsored/financed/planned/executed by the Senior Party Committee of Newport's PTSA. That's us, folks. The Senior Party is a safe, extremely well supervised, all-night party immediately following graduation. As hard as this may be to believe today, our kids will feel incredibly close to one another the week of graduation and will eagerly embrace this one last chance to be together.
The party can be very expensive. Imagine a wedding for 200 people where you serve dinner, provide music, and provide enough atmosphere to keep guests interested. Now double the guest list, add a second meal, and you can see that this can cost some serious coin. Upwards of $40,000, if past parties are any indication. The costs per attendee can range from $150 - $175, depending on how many kids attend. Tickets to the Senior Party generally go for about $100 -$125 and the Senior Party committee generally makes full or partial scholarships available for students unable to pay. Fund raising covers the difference, as well as parents who will just pay the estimated cost of the party.
So we need to begin fundraising as early as possible. Our Fundraising Co-Chair is Cindy Hastings (and she is looking for a willing co-chair), and I have set a meeting so that you can start getting involved in how we will proceed. (That would be at the meeting on October 27th, 7:00 p.m. NHS Commons).
I encourage you to be very responsive in these early days of planning. We will have some decisions to make right off the bat. Do we want a party that pricey? Do we want to do lots of fundraising to keep ticket prices low, or do we want to have higher ticket prices & do less work?? It's important to hear the ideas and suggestions of a variety of parents as we begin, whether you plan to volunteer on the committee or not. So when you see notice of meetings, please try to join us. I'll do my best to keep you all informed.
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Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate is the other event sponsored entirely by Newport's PTSA. Baccalaureate is an inspirational, uplifting, and often very moving presentation that celebrates where students have been and where they are going. Students are invited to speak and perform music of their own choosing. Attendance is optional for students & their families.
The question everyone asks about Baccalaureate is this: "Is it a religious ceremony?" By definition it is a religious ceremony, but in practice, the answer depends on how it has been planned & what selections the students will sing or read. Sometimes there's religious content, and sometimes there isn't. Mostly students talk about the challenges they've faced and the road they see ahead of them. It's always touching and a wee bit emotional.
And because it's a PTSA event, there are treats afterwards.
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Prom & Graduation
These are truly the "main events." Both are sponsored by the school, and paid for out of the funds raised by our students (ASB) throughout their high school years. Money made by selling class sweats & putting on events such as Homecoming go toward both Prom and Graduation. Our current ASB officers have some very good ideas that they are considering for fundraising and now that we have a class advisor, ASB is ready to move forward.
We have held Graduation at many venues over the past several years. Right now, the administration has worked out a deal to hold the ceremony at Meydenbauer Center for the next few years. This is really an excellent place for our graduation – it's close by, it accommodates guests in wheelchairs, and has enough space for our crowd.
Graduation features two student speakers and two faculty speakers – in both cases, one speaker is chosen by the students and one by the staff. Students chosen to perform musically are selected in an audition held in the Spring of Senior year. They all do an excellent job.
The students who are elected as Senior Class Officers and ASB officers at the end of our kids' junior years will be the ones who do the bulk of the planning for the Prom. They'll do all the footwork to choose a suitable venue (based on what they can afford!) and make all other arrangements. They are ready to take this on and execute a great event.
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Senior Awards Night
Every year Newport's graduating class includes dozens of scholarship winners and academic achievers who deserve special recognition. The school could truly spend days honoring them all, but some of you might not have time for that. Instead, we have a lovely evening of awards. Students who will be honored are invited to attend. There is often a musical performance. This is also a school sponsored event.
Honorees are listed in the final edition of the Knightline each year. The PTSA awards cover four pages. You can see the list of last year's honorees at http://www.newportptsa.org/NHSContent.asp?KEY=KNIGHTLINE Click on "Knightline" and check out the June 2008 issue.
The "President's Education Award" is given to all students who have earned a 3.5 GPA or higher AND attained an SAT score in the 85th percentile or higher. At Newport, this is a very large group of students.
An even larger group – 123 of them last year - earns "Washington State Honors" which is bestowed on students who finish in the top 10% of all Washington students for the year based on GPA and SAT/ACT scores.
