Conducting austere graduation rites
Through its memorandum
dated February 20, the Department of Education (DepEd) reminds heads
and teachers of public schools that graduation rites need not be
extravagant or high-budgeted to be considered successful and
meaningful. In line with the government’s austerity measures, DepEd
reiterates that “public schools are not allowed to collect any
graduation fees or any kind of contribution for graduation rites” and
that voluntary contributions from members of the PTA/PTCAs shall be
handled by the parent-teacher association.
Given the DepEd’s
guidelines, teachers are now faced with a big challenge: how to
organize and conduct an austere and solemn graduation ceremony that
will be memorable – because of its essence and not of the amount of
money spent for it -- for the graduating students and their parents.
Step
up to the challenge! With some creativity and with the help of your
students and their parents, your school’s graduation rites for 2008
will surely be a memorable and significant one. Here are some tips you
can use in planning and organizing the event!
Unique Invitations
Why
not incorporate the invitation-making in your art class? This way, the
students can personally create and design the graduation invitations
that they will give their parents or guardians. Just compose the
official content (title, theme, date, venue, program of activities,
contact information) of the invitation and the graduating students can
create their own unique invitations that will definitely be appreciated
by their families.
Doing this activity will reduce the expenses
on invitation printing/copying. The students need not spend on their
invitations too – make them use recycled paper and materials!
Invite speakers who can truly connect
The graduating students need inspirations and role models whom they can
truly connect with and relate to. Invite an alumna who can share his
experiences in high school and achievements in his career and personal
life. You can also ask some of the graduating students to create an
artwork, a thank-you letter, or any special token that can be given to
the speaker.
Decorate wisely
Remember, the more décor
you put on the venue, the more resources you will be wasting, and the
more garbage you will be cleaning up at the end of the event! Just use
the school’s live flower plants and/or re-use old curtains/cloths and
other recycled materials in decorating the venue.
Online yearbook
Instead
of printing the yearbook, post all the graduates’ photos, directory,
and other information under the alumni section of your school’s
official website. With your guidance, yearbook student-staffers can
create and layout pages in MS Publisher or Adobe Pagemaker or Adobe
InDesign. These pages can then be uploaded to the website and voila!
Students and parents can view and download the yearbook for free!
One of our partner schools, Baguio City National High School – Loakan Annex,
has already created an audio-video yearbook, which was featured in the
Smart Schools website. For tips and tools on creating online yearbook,
visit the links below:
Digitize it!
For
the graduation souvenir, you and your students can compile photos and
videos and other memorabilia from the past school year in a CD. You can
also create a batch site in Yahoo! Groups or Facebook
or in other social networking sites then post these digital files. This
way, you and your students can still keep in touch with each other
after graduation.
Give your students, the stars of this
once-in-a-lifetime event, a momentous graduation ceremony which they
will carry in their hearts as they face the next chapters of their
lives.
Congratulations to Batch 2008!
Sources:
February 20, 2008. Department of Education. “2008 Graduation Rites” www.deped.gov.ph Retrieved 12 March 2008 from
http://www.deped.gov.ph/cpanel/uploads/issuanceImg/DO%20No.%2013,%20s.%202008.pdf
March 2, 2008. Kristine Alave. “DepEd orders austere, ‘politics-free’ graduation rites” www.inquirer.net Retrieved 12 March 2008 from http://archive.inquirer.net/view.php?db=1&story_id=122340
(Published 17 March 2008, Smart Schools Program)
