Graduations spotlighting CCS, WP seniors

    May—it’s a time for graduation ceremonies. Chase County Schools and Wauneta-Palisade are making final preparations for theirs on Saturday.
    The CCS Longhorn gym will be the center of activity as 46 CCS seniors graduate during the program starting at 4:30 p.m.
    Morgan Peterson has met the requirements as Class Valedictorian, while Ella O’Neil is the Salutatorian.
    Both will give an address as part of Saturday’s ceremonies.
    CCS 7-12 Guidance Counselor Trent Herbert, completing his last year at the school, said the Class of 2022 is a diverse one that is strong and independent.
    “As a whole, I feel they are pretty confident in the direction they want to go regardless of what someone else might think about it,” Herbert said.
    “They’ve been a very big part of many of the successes and accomplishments at Chase County over the last four years,” he added.
    During the last four years, Herbert said, they also faced a number of unexpected challenges as a class and many individually, some of that due to COVID-19.  
    “Through that they have grown in how to handle life when it doesn’t go the way they want,” he said.
    The class flower is the Country Home Rose. Class colors are also the school colors of orange, black and white.
    Saturday afternoon’s ceremony will open with “Pomp and Circumstance,” played by the CCS Band.
    After opening remarks from class vice president Jordan Jablonski, CCS 7-12 Principal Mike Sorensen will give the welcome. Presentation of diplomas will be made by members of the CCS board of education.
    Music during the ceremony will also be provided by the 9th St. Singers, and a class “Reflections” video presentation is also in the works.
    Class President Arturo Miscles will deliver closing remarks before the recessional.
WP morning ceremony
    “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” -- Minor Myers Jr.
    The Wauneta-Palisade graduating class will look to live up to their class motto as the high school careers of 19 seniors wrap up with Saturday’s graduation ceremony in the high school gym.
    The program will begin at 10:30 a.m.
    After the processional by Sara Witt, school board president Allison Sandman will welcome family and friends then introduce Aaron Behrends as the ceremony’s speaker. Behrends left WP last year after 23 years teaching at the school and taught at Alliance this year.
    Though the Salutatorian had not been announced by Tuesday, Garrett Hanna is the Valedictorian.
    Following the Salutatorian and Valedictorian addresses, the class will present flowers to loved ones before the presentation of the class by Superintendent Randy Geier and class roll by sponsor Tayler Nordhausen.
    Presentation of diplomas from WP board of education members will precede the recessional to “I’m in a Hurry” by Alabama.
    The class has chosen a red carnation tipped in silver as its class flower to go with the class colors of red, navy and silver.