Commencements coming up for hundreds of area students
Commencements for most high school seniors will be held across the next several nights in Randolph County.
Hundreds of students will take part in ceremonies marking the ends of their high school days.
Friday night’s ceremony for Asheboro City Schools is set for Lee J. Stone Stadium, where there are expected to be 307 graduates.
Asheboro has the largest senior class of any school in the county.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s ceremony will be Friday night in the central gym on campus, with about 150 graduates marking the school’s largest class. Last year, UCA had 130 graduates.
Commencement at UCA comes a little later on the calendar than in the past because the start of classes was delayed with the opening of a new building for the high school. There will be a watch party in the auditorium in the new high school with a video streaming of the ceremony. Tickets aren’t needed for the watch party.
Meaghan Rabb, the career and college liaison at UCA, said next year’s senior class is projected to be at 190.
For Stephen Gainey, superintendent of the Randolph County School System, it’s a rewarding time of the year. It’s also busy.
Gainey won’t be able to attend all the district’s ceremonies Tuesday night, when seven schools have commencements scheduled. Per usual, he rotates from year to year for which schools to attend for the ceremonies.
For next week’s commencements, he’ll be at Trinity and Wheatmore.
“I’d love to get where I can go to them all,” Gainey said.
Without a venue in the county suitable to hold commencement activities for all the schools, the events are mostly held in stadiums at the schools or, in the cases of inclement weather, in gyms and auditoriums.
Here are expected graduation numbers for RCSS high schools: Eastern Randolph 137, Providence Grove 139, Randleman 157, Southwestern Randolph 164, Trinity 123, Wheatmore 143 and Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve 29.
Here’s a list of upcoming high school commencements:
** Uwharrie Charter Academy – 6 p.m. June 7
** Asheboro – 7 p.m. June 7
** Eastern Randolph – 6 p.m. June 11
** Trinity – 6 p.m. June 11
** Randleman – 7 p.m. June 11
** Southwestern Randolph – 7 p.m. June 11
** Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve – 7 p.m. June 11 (at Journey Church in Asheboro).
** Providence Grove – 8 p.m. June 11
** Wheatmore – 8 p.m. June 11
Note: Commencement for Randolph Early College High School was held May 17 at Journey Church in Asheboro.
