Seniors prepare to graduate in 3 months, look back at past 3 years

After three years of attending Airport High School, seniors are preparing and are ready to graduate and receive their so anticipated high school diploma. So many years of hard work and dedication, all of which are now being reflected upon, are all about to pay off on Friday June the 2, 2017 in the Eagle Stadium, the day of their graduation.

For the class of 2017, their graduation will be different than the ones in years past. In the past, our graduation ceremonies have been held in either the Coliseum at Carolina or the Colonial Life Arena. These changes, decided by Mrs.Bailey (who was placed in charge of the ceremony) have surprised many, but was decided as a the best choice since the money used normally to rent a place could be used for other purposes.

For their graduation, seniors are going to be required to wear black and white. Gentlemen will be required to wear: black pants, black shoes, a white shirt and a tie with a color of their choice. Ladies will be required to wear: a black skirt/top or dress (it is also recommended that they not wear heels because it would be hard to walk in them down a ramp and on turf). Cap and gown deliveries will be made on March 16 in the lobby of the auditorium. It is recommended that the items be paid in advance to prevent any type of inconvenience.

Many photographic services will be taking place throughout the ceremony. These services will be their to provide videos and photographs of the whole ceremony so that seniors can forever remember the day. Kris Copeland from Kreations will be taking pictures throughout the ceremony. She is a certified professional photographer who provides photography services throughout the Midlands of South Carolina. If students would like a DVD of the ceremony they would have to visit the http://virtualmediasc.com/ website to purchase or fill out an order form (which they can obtain from the AHS website).

Airport High School and Brookland-Cayce High School are the only 2 high schools within Lexington District Two, so every decision made that is relevant to one high school is bound to affect the other in some shape or form. Although the changes have surprised some Seniors, it still doesn't calm there enthusiastic spirits. Current AHS senior, Felipe Mar Vazquez, stated feeling ”very excited” towards the graduation ceremony. He recommended freshmen to “keep up with [their] grades because it all pays off and is worth it at the end”.

Another Airport High School senior (who chose to remain anonymous) stated, “It's all a very exciting moment because everything you have worked for and all [the] years of school are because of [this] diploma”. When asked what was her favorite part of school she stated that “meeting new people” and the [friendships] she created with those friends were her favorite part, ‘I am going to miss everyone’, she stated.

With the upcoming graduation ceremonies coming soon, traditions like the cap and gown, turning of the tassel and throwing of the cap are bound to happen. Have you ever wondered how or where these traditions started though? According to CNYnews.com, the most traditional and widely used attire that symbolizes a graduate is the cap and gown. The use of them first began in the 12th century. Because of the lack of heating systems in universities back then, scholars would have to wear long robes and hoods to keep themselves warm during the ceremony. It is now a tradition and the color of the gown is now determined by the school colors. The tradition of the cap started around the 14th or 15th century. It was more commonly worn by students and artists. It symbolized superiority and intelligence and like the gown, its color depends on the school colors. The proper way to use a cap is to wear it flat on the head and parallel to the floor. Also, the front point of the cap should be centered onto the forehead. Not only is the cap itself an important tradition to high school graduations, its tassel and throwing of it into the air is also an symbolic tradition. The tassel on a cap was at first just supposed to be used as an accessory, but about 40 to 50 years ago, gestures of moving the tassel from the right to left after receiving their high school diploma started being used by high school graduates nationwide. The throwing of the cap practice was started in a Naval Academy in 1912 where midshipmen threw their caps into the air because they wouldn't need them anymore when they were commissioned as Navy officers. After a few years the tradition caught on in institutions across the nation. The action is now considered a symbolic gesture of the end of a chapter in a graduate's life.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding graduation information, you can contact Mrs.Bailey at smbailey@lex2.org.