Dear Year 12 students and parents/carers,

It is wonderful having our students conducting their learning back onsite, after our most recent period of Remote Learning. It is very good to see so many of our students able to seamlessly settle back into school. Our students have displayed amazing resilience as they have been moving between the two modes of learning over the past 18 months.

We are writing to inform you of the planning that is currently underway for the Year 12 Graduation and Last Day of Year 12 Celebration Day. Due to the regularly changing Covid restrictions, we are unable to put out definitive plans about these events, as we ordinarily would do at this time of year. Rather, we have the following options, for all of which we have plans in place. All of the following options will be subject to the Covid restrictions at the time and all social distancing and personal hygiene rules will be followed.

GRADUATION – Wednesday 20th October

Option 1:
If there are no Covid restrictions or restrictions allow Theatres to be operating with 75-100% capacity we will host two Graduation ceremonies, one at approximately 5.30pm and one at approximately 8.15pm. Each student will be able to invite two guests, with a waiting list operating for additional guests in extenuating circumstances. Each student will be presented to the audience and will receive their Graduation certificate. Tickets will go onsale at the start of Term 4 and will cost approximately $15pp ($45 for student and two guests). Both ceremonies will be live streamed in order for additional family and friends to be able to watch.

Option 2:
If theatres are operating at less than 75% capacity or public events are not permitted (meaning parents/carers cannot attend but school events with exclusively staff and students are permitted) we will host one ceremony with all students in the audience. Each student will be presented to the audience and will receive their Graduation certificate. The Ceremony will be live streamed in order for parents/carers and other family and friends to be able to watch. Tickets will not be required for this event.

Option 3:
If schools are unable to host large events, even with exclusively staff and students we will prerecord our ceremony, with all students being filmed as they graduate. Students will come to the Ulumbarra Theatre at an allocated time throughout the day, between 12.00pm and 2.15pm. Each student will only be required for a maximum of 45 minutes. Numbers within the Theatre at any given time would be kept to a minimum, avoiding any large congregation of students. Speeches and musical performances would be filmed the day before. The final cut of the ceremony would be streamed at 7pm that evening and we would encourage families to celebrate while watching this together. This is the format that was needed to be followed last year. Tickets will not be required for this event.

If our State or Local Government Area was in full lockdown at this time, unfortunately none of these options would be available, however we would look at rescheduling if time allowed. Regardless of the option that we run with, one very special part of our ceremony is when we screen each student’s Year 12 photo alongside their Prep (or early childhood) photo. We ask that students or parents/carers please submit the Prep photo to events@bssc.edu.au before the end of Term 3. Alternatively, students can bring a hard copy to the Student Services Centre for scanning.

LAST DAY OF YEAR 12 CELEBRATION DAY – Thursday 21st October

Option 1:
If large school events with exclusively staff and students are permitted we will run our regular annual fancy dress event with our Year 12 cohort, where students gather for their final assembly in the Ulumbarra Theatre at 9am. They will then spend a few hours in the Plaza, where they will be entertained by a DJ, enjoy a cooked breakfast and take part in many fun activities, before taking part in the fancy dress parade before their final dismissal.

Option 2:
If schools are unable to host large events, even with exclusively staff and students all students will still be encouraged to come in fancy dress and we will run a shortened day of classes. At the end of the day, we will provide our students with a lunch, however this will be spread across an area beyond the Plaza. During the lunch, there will be music, games and ample opportunity for photo opportunities, before the student’s final dismissal. This is the format that was needed to be followed last year.

While there has been a great deal of uncertainty in these last 18 months, we want our college community to know that we are doing everything we can to plan adequately for any scenario we may presented with at the time, to ensure that we commemorate these very special occasions in the best way possible.

More information regarding these events and other important details regarding the end of year will be available closer to the time, but in the meantime, we wanted to ensure that you were fully informed of our planning. We hope that all students make the very most of their remaining time at the college, working to the best of their ability and accessing the array of supports available. With only a short time remaining in their senior secondary education, now is the time to maximise every opportunity.

Regards,

Dale Pearce, Principal

Kylie Hand, Assistant Principal