Stoughton had a chance to celebrate the Class of 2020 from the Stoughton Central School on Monday, first with a ceremony for the grads, and then with a drive-by tribute.
Eight of the nine graduates from the school participated in the ceremony at the Forget Shrine in the afternoon, with family members in attendance.
Principal Shelly Campbell believes nearly 50 people turned out for the ceremony, which she said was very small but very nice.
The ceremony featured many of the attributes one would expect from a grad event, with tributes to the parents and teachers, the valedictorian’s address and a farewell to the grads. Parents offered a reply to the grads’ toast, and a member of the staff members gave a reply on behalf of the teachers.
Then there was the presentation of diplomas and awards.
Shoni King, who hails from the Corning area, was the valedictorian.
Once the ceremony was finished, the students gathered in an area at the front of the school that Campbell called the U.
“The grads spread out around the U, and the community was able to drive slowly through the U and congratulate the grads and drop off cards that they had,” said Campbell.
She doesn’t have an estimate on how many people drove by, but it took about 30-45 minutes for all of the vehicles to drive past.
The community was supportive of the concept of the drive-by, and Campbell said this was the best the school and everyone in town could do.
“I think the grads all really enjoyed their day,” said Campbell. “They were happy they were able to have … something resembling a ceremony. The day went very well. I was very happy with how it turned out, and I think the grads all really enjoyed it and appreciated it.”
The kids have been “troopers” the past few months, she said. They’re all great kids and they have a great sense of humour. They worked hard and they deserved to have a send-off like they received.
“It was very nice to be able to give the grads the day that they deserve. I was very happy with how things turned out,” said Campbell.
