Principal Michael Gasaway wants seniors to feel special as the school year ends, and if his plans work out, seniors are going to enjoy a much different May.

The first set of changes to the last week is that rather than getting out on May 25, seniors will take their finals earlier than everyone else and finish classes on May 19. This schedule prioritizes seniors enjoying their last days as well as giving them an entire week to prepare for graduation.

On May 22 and May 24, seniors will be able to make up finals and missing assignments that impact their grades as long as they have made those arrangements with their teachers. If seniors have completed everything they need to do, though, they will be rewarded with two additional days off before officially graduating from high school.

On Honors Day planned for May 23, seniors will be required to attend school in cap and gown for the program as well as their official class portrait. The option to purchase this panoramic portrait will be available after Spring Break. Then, they will enjoy a free pizza lunch before boarding buses to visit other Greenwood Schools for something called the Grad Walk. They will walk the halls of the elementary schools and middle school in cap and gown led by the Marching Band playing the school song. This will allow their former teachers to see them as soon-to-be graduates and younger students to see where they will be in a few years. These seniors will be their role models.

On the Thursday prior to graduation, May 25, seniors must arrive at the football field at 6:30 a.m. to enjoy a sunrise breakfast with their peers before practicing the actual graduation ceremony. The school will provide pancakes, hash browns and other breakfast items. This new tradition give seniors a chance to reminisce with their classmates before leaving for college and the workforce. After the breakfast seniors will work through all the steps for the ceremony before heading home from school for the last time before graduation the next day.

The yearbook is scheduled for distribution on May 23 during PowerHour, but if the books are received early, they will be distributed on May 18. If they are not received early from the publisher, an alternative option will be available for seniors. Look for information to be distributed through the class Canvas page, the school’s announcement page, and the daily Woodmen AM show.