Hello Senior parents! Hard to believe isn't it? I think this goes without saying, there will be a lot more class specific information coming your way this next school year.
Below you will find an updated version of an email I sent regarding senior activities as well as what to expect for (approximate) senior year expenses.
Important dates to get on your calendar:
Back-to-school Check-In for seniors: Wednesday, August 18th (packets will be sent home early August)
First day of school: August 30th
Have a wonderful, relaxing summer!
--
Julie Rooney
PTSA Class of 2011 Liaison
http://newport-ptsa-2011.blogspot.com/
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Grad Knight (senior party)
Grad Knight is 100% sponsored/financed/planned/executed by the 2011 Grad Knight Committee of Newport’s PTSA. Grad Knight is a safe, extremely well supervised, all-night party immediately following graduation. And it is a complete surprise for the students as they have no knowledge of the venues and activities. 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 is completely alcohol & drug-free. Graduates bring nothing with them and no one can crash the party. No one can leave early. It’s carefully chaperoned. Our graduates get to enjoy being with one another without any "distractions".
Grad Knight can be very expensive. Upwards of $45,000 to $50,000, if past parties are any indication. The average cost per attendee can range from $150 - $175, depending on how many kids attend. Tickets to Grad Knight generally go for about $100 -$125 and the Grad Knight committee generally makes sure full or partial scholarships are available for students unable to pay. Students will need to see their counselor if a scholarship is needed.
There will be GRAD KNIGHT 2011 information in your back-to-school packets in August. In this packet will be the lowest price ticket offer for Grad Knight 2011. Consider taking advantage of this as the price will increase during the school year.
Our class got a very early start with fundraising our sophomore and junior year with towel sales, VINO events, letter writing campaigns and we benefit a bit each year as parties end the year with extra money. PTSA has a tradition of splitting leftover Grad Knight Party funds among the three remaining classes.
Please support our events this upcoming year and help in whatever way you can as our fabulous chair, Tira Villaneuva and the rest of the Grad Knight committee work to raise money for this event!
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Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate is the other event sponsored entirely by Newport’s PTSA and is held in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Newport.
Baccalaureate is an inspirational, uplifting, and often very moving presentation that celebrates where students have been and where they are going. There is a guest speaker and 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. This is a nice event to invite friends & family to, because there’s lots of time to visit after.
And because it’s a PTSA event, there is a reception and treats afterwards. Thank you Teresa Pates for volunteering to chair this event for our seniors and families.
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Prom & Graduation
These are truly the “main events” for our students. 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 ASB officers will be sponsoring two dances this upcoming year to help fund prom and graduation.
The ASB advisor for the class of 2011 is Suzi Golden. She has been working with our ASB officers for the last 3 years. The ASB officers have great plans for Senior year! Thank you Suzi!
Graduation
As long as I have been at Newport the graduation ceremony has been held at Meydenbauer Center. Meydenbauer Center is really a nice place for our graduation – it’s close by, it accommodates guests in wheelchairs, and has enough space for our crowd. With all the levels of the building it does present a challenge for families to gather and take pictures before your student changes clothes and checks in for Grad Knight. (If you have any questions about other venues, feel free to ask me. Each one has significant drawbacks.)
Tickets: Our class is quite large, so we are not likely to get unlimited tickets per student. Each student gets 4 tickets. Additional tickets require filling out a form and we will pay for extras (approximately $5 per ticket). Just want you all to be prepared.
Graduation features two student speakers (one student-selected & one staff-selected) and two faculty speakers chosen by the students. Students chosen to perform musically are selected in an audition held in the Spring of Senior year. They all do an excellent job. The ceremony is MC’d by the Senior Class President and student names are announced by the Senior Class officers.
Few students attend a graduation until they are graduating, and they approach the ceremony with a vast array of emotions, ranging from tremendous glee to serious appreciation for the gravity of the occasion. What I’m trying to say is that they (or at least several of them) quite understandably don’t know how to behave. They manage fairly well despite their excitement.
Students who have earned a GPA of 3.5 or above wear honor cords (gold cords) around their necks. Students who have earned scores of 3 or better on at least three AP courses wear AP capes (sort of a gold collar). Note that since scores aren’t available by graduation, these scores have to have been earned by the end of Jr. year.
The printed program shows which students were ranked in the top 5% of the class, which had GPA’s of 3.5 or above, which had AP capes, and which were in Spanish Immersion, A separate handout lists the awards, honors, and scholarships earned by students (see Senior Awards Night).
Wherever graduation takes place, it’s crowded and there is very little time to visit with your graduate immediately after the ceremony as they must change clothes, give you all their stuff and get checked-in for Grad Knight. So be prepared for some quick pictures and good bye's.
We will have the graduation date confirmed very soon and I will let you know as soon as I know. (Tentative date is June 13th)
Prom
Our Senior Class officers will do almost all 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.
Newport’s administration actively keeps the cost of tickets low to ensure that price is not a barrier to attendance. The Activities office also keeps a supply of formal gowns on hand for students who are not able to purchase a dress. Any student who needs financial help with the costs of prom can talk with a counselor about options. This year the tickets were $45.
Prom 2011 is historically the first Saturday in June. I will keep you informed once the date is set. The venue is usually a closely guarded secret until close to the actual date.
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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 a school-sponsored event. Honorees are listed in the final edition of the Knightline each year. They cover pages!!
Some honors are scholarships that students have applied for. Information about these scholarships comes from Sally Owen in the Counselors’ office at Newport. I will keep you informed of deadlines for scholarships as best I can.
There are two awards that are given automatically to students who have earned them:
- 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. One hundred sixty-three students in the Class of 2010 earned this honor.
- “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.
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Senior Edition of Knightlife
The June edition of the student newspaper, Knightlife, is devoted to seniors. There are pictures, ABC Awards, stories and where everyone is going to college. This issue of the paper is not budgeted for in the student newspaper budget, so the class must fund it out of ASB funds, or wherever else they can scrounge up about $1,000. They usually think about it in May, when their options are very limited. If you know of a way to solve this problem, contact a senior class officer. They would be grateful, but don’t know it yet.
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Senior Pictures/Portraits
If you are planning on having a senior portrait done of your graduate, you will need to arrange this with the studio of your choice. The pictures will be for your mantel, your grandparents, and possibly your graduation announcements. They won’t be included in the student section of the Yearbook. The picture used for this is the one taken on Check in day or Picture Makeup day by Dorian, this year’s yearbook company. Costs for senior portraits can range from $300-$700 depending on studio and what you want as far as packages offered. Many studios offer early bird deals in June & July.
There will be an option available to buy a “baby ad” in the back of the yearbook. These are quarter and half page ads that parents use as an opportunity to run their favorite baby picture and sometimes the senior portrait. You can put in a personal note to your child as a memory. The deadline to submit this has not yet been finalized, but will probably be in November/December. These ads prices can range from $50-$250.
Several studios ask students to be “reps”. They then ask those students to give them the names and addresses of everyone they know, and in return they get a free portrait or something. If a student uses that studio, and says they were referred by the rep, then they often get free wallets or some other freebie. It is all a private arrangement between the students and the studios. The school is not involved in any way. A word of caution: we have discovered that the way some reps were getting names of all their friends, and of the entire senior class, was to go through the PTA Directory and copy down names and addresses. The problem? It is an illegal use of the Directory.
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Graduation Expenses (Cap & Gown/Announcements)
Jostens is the company that works with Newport for graduation. They offer cap & gown packages as well as announcements and invitations. Cap & gown packages range from approximately $36 - $91. Announcements can range from $13 - $65 with additional expenses if you order foil name cards, labels, inserts etc. Some students also order class rings through Jostens. The average student order is about $120.
Each grad purchase a red gown and the cap/tassel. If you previously purchased a gown for a sibling, you may re-use it (or borrow a neighbors). They iron beautifully.
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Miscellaneous Expenses:
- College Applications
- SAT/ACT Test (go to www.collegeboard.com for more information)
- AP Exams (they were $86 this year)
- ASB Cards ($60 this year)
- Yearbook (approximately $50-$55)
- Athletics Pay-to-Play ($100 per sport with a maximum $300 per family)
