PTO Plans Parade for Senior Class
A close up of the PTO banner that hangs outside the front door of HHS.
June 1, 2020
As May ends and June begins, the warm weather gives a bittersweet reminder of the annual Senior Farwell festivities that usually take place this past week: Prom, Senior Breakfast, Senior Night, field-days-all activities that Seniors look forward that remain postponed or cancelled this year. However, even with these uncertain times, the Hingham Community will not let the Class of 2020 leave without a proper sendoff. With hopes for an in-person graduation on August 1st, the PTO has also put together special events to commemorate the students’ 12 years of dedication to their academics. These events will include a car parade and an in-person awards ceremony for the students, both on June 13th.
Many Hingham seniors appreciate PTO’s efforts to make this time memorable. Senior Claire Fennelly explains, “I think it is so nice what the PTO volunteers have done. None of my friends from other schools had so much done for them. Many were told in March their graduation was canceled, and then that was it. There was no video, parade, or anything. This has been so nice.”
On the morning of June 13th, seniors should arrive at Notre Dame Academy so that they can line up their cars and begin the parade at 9 am from the Notre Dame Academy lot. The parade will then move down Main Street, turn right at Free Street, and continue past the high school.
Because the parade will move slowly down the Main, Free, and Union Streets, traffic will be disrupted. Hingham Police have been notified and they approved the parade. Local travelers should be advised, however, that they should seek an alternate route during the time of the parade.
Students are encouraged to decorate their cars with their names or future plans, but the PTO suggests they save their caps and gowns for the in-person graduation on August 1st. Friends, family, community members, and HHS faculty are welcome to cheer students along the parade route, following the social distancing guidelines, of course. People may also park at the HHS lot to give a wave to seniors as they pass by.
Seniors who wish to participate in the parade should reserve their spot HERE. Since the Hingham Board of Health has set the MAXIMUM number of cars to 150 cars and set a 2 PERSON LIMIT PER CAR, not every single senior may be able to participate. Please see the link above for more specific details.
Later that same day, an in-person awards ceremony for seniors is planned to take place on the multi-purpose turf field with students spread safely apart, as long as local health and safety officials approve. The event may not allow bystanders; if that is the case, a live-broadcast will be accessible for family and community members to watch. Stay tuned for updates on additional details.
In addition to these planned festivities, people can stroll through Hingham Square to see the seniors’ yearbooks photos displayed in the windows of these local businesses.
Further, our local television station, Harbor Media, revealed this lovely video tribute for the graduating class on Saturday, May 30th, what would have been their actual graduation day. The Class of 2020 Parents thanks Harbor Media producer Erin DiMartino and Principal Rick Swanson for help with that project.
Finally, a new banner, created by the 2020 Class Parents Bridget Blasetti, Debi Lashar, Jennifer Platt, Nancy Gray, and Joelle Young commemorating the class of 2020 is hung at HHS and will be displayed for the next several weeks.
It is evident that the Hingham Community is able to ban together in a time of absolute uncertainty. Senior Grace McIsaac said that “It’s very nice for the PTO to continue trying to make us feel appreciated.” Grace added that “It shows us [seniors] how much we are loved and appreciated. We as seniors put in so much work over these last four years so it’s nice to see them put in so much work for us.”
The Harborlight will take pictures of the parade on June 13th, but we encourage everyone to come out, spread out, and give these students a shout-out to celebrate the end to what has been a year for the record books.
