Seton High School Graduation Info 2020
IMPORTANT NOTE
The graduation is currently postponed and will not occur in May. If possible, we plan to hold the graduation in either late July or early August at Skyline High School in Front Royal. We will not know until late June whether this new schedule is possible. At that time we will contact all 12th grade students and inform them of the new plans. We leave the information below for reference, but much of it will obviously not be applicable.
Front Royal, Virginia
Front Royal is located almost exactly at the intersection of Interstates 81 and 66 in north central Virginia. From the North and South, it is easily reached by taking Interstate 95 to the Washington beltway, and then taking Interstate 66 West. If traveling on Interstate 81, take 66 East. There are several different venues for various events. The graduation ceremony and dance will be at Skyline High School. A Friday pizza party lunch reception will be at Seton Home Study School. (Although it is not yet confirmed, we expect a Friday afternoon tour will be at Christendom College, as well as a Friday evening event of some kind.)
Skyline High School (151 Skyline Vista Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630):
From Eastbound Interstate 66, take Exit 6. Follow US 522/340 South into Front Royal. To stay on 522/340, you will need to make a left turn at 14th Street (there will be a BBT Bank and a Verizon store at this intersection). A mile after this turn, routes 522 and 340 break apart. Stay to your right as the road name changes to North Royal Avenue. Travel another 2 miles on Royal Avenue until you reach Skyline Vista Drive on your right.
From Westbound Interstate 66, take Exit 13. Turn left onto Apple Mountain Road, and then turn right after about 1/4 of a mile onto Rt. 55 (John Marshal Highway). Continue on Rt. 55 for 4 1/2 miles. Rt. 55 turns into South Street. Continue on South Street until it dead ends into South Royal Ave. Turn left on South Royal Ave and travel 1/2 mile to Skyline Vista Drive on your right. (Note: Only follow these directions if you are going directly to Skyline High School on Saturday. If you are arriving in Front Royal the previous evening and checking into a hotel, we suggest that you use Exit 6, as that exit is closer to many hotels.)
Skyline High School
Seton Home Study School (1350 Progress Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630): From Front Royal, take Happy Creek road out of town for two miles. Turn left onto Shenandoah Shores Road and travel approximately one-half mile to Progress Drive. Turn left onto Progress Drive. Seton Home Study School is the second building on the right.
Christendom College (134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630): From Front Royal, take Happy Creek road out of town for two miles. Turn left onto Shenandoah Shores Road and travel approximately 1.5 miles. Christendom College will be on your left. The second driveway, just after the chapel, is the main entrance. From Seton to Christendom: from Progress Drive turn left onto Shenandoah Shores Road and travel for one mile.
Maps of the area are available at MapQuest.
Airports
The Washington DC metropolitan area is served by three airports: Dulles Airport (IAD), Reagan National Airport (DCA), and Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI). Dulles Airport is approximately a 60 minute drive from Front Royal. National is approximately an hour and fifteen minutes. Baltimore-Washington Airport is approximately an hour and forty-five minutes.
Hotel Information
We have reserved blocks of rooms at the Towneplace Suites and the Hampton Inn in Front Royal.
The Hampton Inn has 20 rooms (10 king and 10 two queen) for $129 per night. The direct link to reserve online is http://group.hamptoninn.com/SetonGraduation
The Towneplace Suites has 15 rooms reserved at $109 for either on king or two queen. The reservation link is https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1575643892275&key=GRP&app=resvlink (Although only 15 rooms are specifically blocked off, the Towneplace Suites says it will continue to give a Seton Home Study School discount as long as it is not full. Once the 15 rooms are reserved however, you would need to phone the hotel directly to receive the discounted rate.)
Last year we also blocked a large number of rooms at the Super 8 hotel in Front Royal. The Super 8 is the closest hotel to the the graduation venue, being only about 1 mile away. We tried to block rooms this year but the hotel refused to do so. Online the Super 8 is currently showing no rooms available for the graduation weekend, but it’s possible rooms may be available by phone.
If rooms are not available in Front Royal, then you might try hotels in Strasburg, Winchester or Stephen’s City, all of which are within easy driving distance of Front Royal. To see various hotels in the area, please consult Hotels.com or TripAdvisor.com or a similar service.
Event Summary
Projected schedule, subject to change:
- Friday 11:30a-1:30p Pizza party reception for families and graduates. Seton tours. Fun and games for kids!
- Friday 2:00-4:00p Seton Visit Day at Christendom; college tour, talks, etc.
- Friday 7:00p-10:00p Evening event
- Saturday 12:30-1:00p Graduates and families arrive at Skyline High School
- Saturday 1:20p Graduation practice begins in the Skyline gymnasium
- Saturday 1:55p Graduates process from gymnasium to auditorium
- Saturday 2:00p Graduation ceremony begins
- Saturday 3:45p (approx.) Graduation ceremony completes, class picture is taken (may be inside or outside depending on weather)
- Saturday 4:15p Reception in the lunch area of Skyline High School
- Saturday 7:00p-10:00p Family Dance in the Skyline High School gymnasium
Graduation Mass
Although it is not a part of the graduation per se, we will have a special Mass for graduates and families on Saturday morning before the graduation. The Mass will be held at St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal at 10:30 am on Saturday morning. If any families are bringing priests with them who would like to concelebrate, please let us know.
Graduation Schedule
Last year, because of the high number of graduates, the graduation was held in the gymnasium rather than the auditorium of the school. We will not know until soon before the graduation whether we will need to hold the graduation in the gymnasium again this year. In either case, at 1:20 we will run through a quick practice with the graduates.
The graduation ceremony will last from 2:00 until approximately 3:30. Immediately following the ceremony we will have a class picture. Following the class picture, we will have a reception in the lunch area of the school. The reception will last until about 5:30 pm or so. At 7 pm, we will hold a family graduation dance in the Skyline High School gymnasium. The approximately hour and a half break between the reception and the dance should allow the graduates plenty of time to change clothes, eat, etc., and allow parents to rest.
Please arrive at Skyline High School between 12:30 and 1:00 pm, but no later than 1:00 pm. Please eat lunch beforehand, as there will be no further opportunity to eat until the reception around 4:00. Since we have many graduates and time is tight, it is absolutely imperative that all graduates are read for the practice at 1:20 pm.
Speaker
We are pleased to announce that the commencement speaker for the graduation will be Dr. William Thierfelder, the president of Belmont Abbey College. To read more about Dr. Thierfelder, click here.
Student Speaker(s)
Again this year we intend to have one or two graduates give a short speech (5 to 10 minutes) at the graduation as representatives of the graduating class. If you would like to give a speech, please send your planned remarks (between 1000 and 1500 words) to KevClark@setonhome.org. We will choose from among all submitted remarks and contact those chosen at least two weeks before graduation.
Attendance
We ask that you stick as closely as possible to the number of guests you reported to us. If you wish to bring significantly more guests than you reported please let us know no later than May 15th.
Dress Code
There is no specific dress code for graduates, but clothes under the gown should be appropriate. Gentlemen are encouraged to wear ties with collared shirts, but should avoid suit jackets due to heat. Ladies are encouraged not to wear very long dresses that hang below the gown so as to prevent tripping. Ladies and gentlemen should wear appropriate dress shoes, and ladies should avoid extremely high heels for safety going up and down stairs. If you want to color-coordinate, the caps and gowns will be royal blue and the honors stoles are gold.
If you have earned any academic honors stoles or medals of your own, feel free to wear those as well.
High School Credits
Remember, graduates need to have 3/4 of their 12th grade work done by the graduation date. If you are unsure of the status of your high school credits, please contact Bob Wiesner at BWiesner@setonhome.org or Nick Marmalejo at NMarmalejo@setonhome.org. You may also contact Bob Wiesner by phone at 540-622-8478 or Nick Marmalejo at 540-636-2238.
Students who have completed sufficient credits to graduate by May 23rd will receive their actual diploma at the graduation ceremony. Other students will receive a certificate and will have their diploma mailed to them upon completion of their work.
Pictures
There will be ample opportunities to take pictures throughout the day. Families are encouraged to help the graduate with his or her cap and gown and take family pictures in the gymnasium. During the graduation ceremony, after Dr. Clark hands a diploma to a graduate, she will pose with the graduate so that pictures may be taken. Seton will have a photographer in the front of the auditorium who will take individual close-up pictures of each graduate receiving his or her diploma. After the graduation ceremony, a class pictures will be taken.
Seton also plans to live-stream the graduation on our Facebook page, and the video will remain available after the graduation.
Portrait Area
There will be portrait areas with lights and backdrop set up at Skyline High School both before and after the graduation ceremony, as well as during the dance, where families may take student and family portraits.
Friday Afternoon Family Pizza Party
On Friday afternoon before the graduation, from 11:30 to 1:30, we will hold a pizza party at the Seton building on 1350 Progress Drive, Front Royal. Besides pizza, we will have moon bounces, pony rides, sno-cone machine, pop corn, etc. This is a great opportunity to see the Seton building, meet the Seton staff and the other families, and let the kids have a fun time. We have also found that this is a great way for graduates to meet each other and form friendships.
Christendom Visit Day
Christendom College will host a visit day for Seton students on Friday, May 22nd, beginning at 2 pm. This will give families a chance to tour the campus and ask questions of the admissions staff. If you come to Seton for the Pizza Party, you may want to go down the road a mile and see Christendom. The Visit Day is open to all Seton students, not only graduates.
Friday Evening Event
We will hold a Friday evening event of some sort. Last year we had a roller skate night, but this year’s event has not yet been decided.
Saturday Evening Dance
For several years, Seton students held a dance in conjunction with the graduation. Since this was a very popular event, we decided to make it an official part of the graduation weekend. Admission to the dance is included in the graduation fee so there is no extra cost to attend the dance.
Please note that this dance is for families, not just for the graduates, so we encourage parents, grandparents, and siblings to attend as well. Since this is a family dance, we ask that everyone consider the standards of Christian modesty.
$1500 College Scholarships
To support Catholic higher education, Seton is giving out ten $1500 college scholarships to our graduates (this includes all graduates, not only those who attend the Front Royal graduation) who plan on enrolling with one of our college partner schools or any other Newman Guide recommended college. Ten recipients will be chosen at random from among all eligible applications received. You can find more information, including the scholarship application form and a list of eligible colleges and universities at this link: https://www.setonhome.org/scholarship/
Invitations and Announcements
We will produce templates that you can use to print your own announcements and invitations. Links to PDFs will be here when they are completed.
The invitations will be designed to print on 5.5×8.5 invitation paper. Here is a link to paper of that size.
Caps and Gowns
In order to keep down the cost of graduation, we reuse the caps and gowns from year to year, so we ask that you return the caps and gowns before you leave. There will be a collection area for caps and gowns in the reception area. Some graduates have asked to borrow the cap and gown for another graduation ceremony with a local group. If you wish to borrow the cap and gown, please let a Seton staffer know so that it is properly accounted for.
A souvenir tassel is included with the cap. This tassel is yours to keep.
Graduation Program
We like to put information in the program about the graduates. If you have decided upon a college to attend next year, or you have received any outstanding academic awards or recognition (such as National Merit Scholarship, ROTC, Scouting, etc.), or have received scholarship awards, or have some other information you would like to have in the program, please let us know. We have a limited amount of space so we ask you to be brief, but we will put in as much of what you send as we can. Please email the information to gradbio@setonhome.org.
