Quarantined Class of 2020
When students were sent home the first week of March and Illinois was instructed to quarantine- none of us knew that would actually be their last day (physically) of school! The Coronavirus pandemic continued to spread, as spring break plans and sports were cancelled. Later that month, E-learning was implemented and zoom calls replaced advisory. Our 8th grade Washington D.C. trip was cancelled, as well as all celebratory events leading up to graduation. Soon enough, the decision was made to keep the students at home for the remainder of the school year- the slow preparation for high school was gone, as were the opportunities for closure on middle school with friends and teachers.
Friday night pizza parties and going to baseball games were replaced with online gaming and Netflix watch parties. They will never get those last days of school with their friends back, but they will remember this time forever. They should be proud of discovering their inner strength, and the sense of community “we’re all in this together” that got them through it. Here’s to the Quarantined Class of 2020- you have accomplished more than just receiving a diploma!
The last day of school for our 8th grade class was Friday, June 5th. A bittersweet moment, which basically entailed pulling up at your designated time to return your Chrome Book, wearing a mask! I am on the 8th Grade Graduation Committee-and in lieu of the ice cream truck and barn raising party we had planned at our farm that day, we gave the kids goodie bags with these sweatshirts, and custom masks with our school logo to wear to graduation on Monday.
The day before graduation we had a small group of friends and family over for a “socially distant” car decorating party! Luckily, we have a small school and only 47 graduating 8th graders, so the state allowed our district to have an in person Drive-in Graduation.
A week before our school principal held an all parents zoom meeting to review details. A parent asked if anyone was decorating cars- we raised our digital and physical hands with an emphatic YES WE ARE!
Socially together, physically distant.
Each family had their own car decorating station (six feet apart!) A fun local store The Wild Child posted on instagram they had these awesome chalk markers for car decorating- which later came off super easily with water!
SO happy to see these beautiful, smiling faces!!! Especially enjoying our new porch swing.
As a special treat for parents we set up a make your own Bloody Mary table and put out favors like 2020 sunglasses and glow rings for the graduates.
*this is first time we ever had hand sanitizer on our bar I can promise you that!*
Parents and kids got in on the fun! I mean…who doesn’t think it’s fun to write on a car?! (this was a first for me!)
We have had a few front porch cocktails over the last month- but have been hesitant to serve food. The perfect solution for this gathering was a food truck! Luckily The Fat Shallot was available that day as this was all planned last minute- OMG their sandwiches! It was a tough choice between the Buffalo Chicken with blue cheese and the Truffle BLT- I went with the Buffalo Chicken. Happily there were leftovers and I had the BLT for dinner. The truffle fries, however, were an easy decision!
Of course we ended the night with fireworks!
Monday, June 10th- graduation day has arrived! We are so proud of all these kids, especially our son Henry who has a positive outlook for the future, and can’t wait to start high school at New Trier in the fall.
Most Likely To Join The Bass Fishing Team
Thanks to Balloons by Tommy, Sunset Ridge School is all decked out and ready for graduation to begin!
YAY! You did it Henry! Off to high school!
Thank you to our school Principal and Superintendent who fought for us to have this in person ceremony! The speeches from staff and students were spectacular and meaningful. The kids were able to get out of their cars in small groups- and walk up one by one to get their diploma and take a photo. It was a really special day, and we were able to all be together to celebrate!
Also thank you to our classmates parents at R.E.M. Video & Photography who arranged for the live feed, so grandparents and extended family at home could be there with us to watch and celebrate too! We were fortunate to have school mom and professional photographer Ana Miyares on site to capture the special moments.
Everyone really brought their school spirit to our Drive-in Graduation! It was so fun to see all the decorated cars, and hear the cheers being called throughout the parking lot. These kids have grown and matured so much since March, with masks on it was hard to recognize many of them!
Don’t Look Back, You’re Not Going That Way.
Immediately after the graduation, there was a car parade thru town led by our fabulous Police Cheif Bill Lustig! Accompanied by the Northfield Fire Department, with sirens blaring and lights flashing, they closed traffic for us- the highlight of the day for the kids!
The parade took us through town to a neighborhood favorite, U Dawg U. The owner, Rob Mages, is a local legend and he graciously opened up that night just for our graduation party! The kids and parents ate and enjoyed some socializing in the parking lot- the first time most of us have seen each other in 4 months!
After U Dawg U, we had a small impromptu gathering at our farm with plenty of room to spread out. The kids played football and basketball, while the parents drank champagne and watched the sun set on what was truly a magical evening.
“As scary and uncertain as these times may be, they are also a wake up call, and they are an incredible opportunity for your generation, because you don’t have to accept what was considered normal before. You don’t have to accept the world as it is. You can make it into the world as it should be, and could be. You can create a new normal. One that is fairer and gives everybody opportunity, and treats everybody equally, and builds bridges between people instead of dividing them.”
President Obama