A Letter From Hope High Principal Bill Hoglund…

By Staff, 04/20/20 8:16 PM

April 20, 2020
Dear Students, Parents, Family, and Friends,
In light of the current challenges surrounding the COVID-19 global health crisis, resulting in closed
campuses for the remainder of the school year and no clear indication as to when it would be possible
to hold a traditional ceremony, Hope High School believes a virtual graduation is the best option at this
time.
We understand nothing can replace an in-person graduation ceremony, and dependent upon local and
national mandates, we will continue to look into the possibility of bringing this class together in the
future. In the meantime, we still want to celebrate and honor the resilient Class of 2020.
The graduating class of 2020 will be celebrated in a live professionally produced graduation ceremony
broadcast on YouTube May 29th at 6:00 pm. The ceremony will include personalized content provided
by each student who participates. We will have a speaker, Steven Walden, an artist from St. Louis and a
Hope High School graduate. The ceremony will include the students’ cap and gown picture and a
personal message delivered by the student if they choose to do so. Each student will be able to
download their portion of the ceremony to share across multiple social media platforms with family and
friends.
We are scheduling a drive-through to pick up diplomas, transcripts, honor cords and other materials
May 8th in the bus line at Hope High School from 5:00 until 7:00 pm. Several teachers and staff will be
there to provide those materials. Students should stay in their cars and have their names displayed on
the passenger side windows so we can pass the items to students inside their cars. You may decorate
your cars and we look forward to seeing you. The stadium lights will be on the day and night of May 8th
in honor of the class of 2020.
Students will receive a series of emails to their school account to make sure their names are pronounced
correctly and provide information about how they can create their personal statement/video for
graduation.
Sincerely,
Bill Hoglund
Principal
Hope High School