Senior Year

June 5th, 2020 10:00pm to 5:00am

​Welcome to Senior year!  Part of the tradition for Seniors at WBLAHS is attending the All Night Senior Party (ANSP).  The all-night party provides a safe, chaperoned way for our graduates to celebrate this milestone with their classmates. Held at White Bear Lake Area High School South Campus following the graduation ceremony, it is a night filled with fun and laughter that’s sure to create memories for a lifetime!

​The themed party features a variety of food, entertainment and activities. The hallways, cafeteria and gym are transformed with decorations reflecting the theme of this year's party. 

The ANSP is NOT school sponsored, and is planned and hosted 100% by senior and junior parents. For information about tickets and volunteer opportuntities, go to the ANSP website.

There is a lot you can do to get involved and help make this ANSP the best it can be for the class of 2020!​

ANSP Website
Order Tickets & Volunteer

Every student must wear a cap and gown to participate in the ceremony.

 Cap, Gown and Ticket Distribution will be on Wednesday, May 27^th during all lunches.  If you cannot pick up your Cap and Gown during that time, you may do so in the Main Office any time after May 27^th. 

Tickets will be handed out to students when they pick up their Cap and Gown.  Each student will receive five tickets.  If your family does not need all five tickets, please turn in unused tickets to the Main Office. Students are encouraged to reach out to other classmates for unused tickets. If you are unsuccessful in obtaining additional tickets, please stop by the main office on Thursday, May 28 and add your name to the wait list. Any extra tickets will be distributed on Monday, June 1 in the Main Office.  Extra tickets are not guaranteed.

Only students who are on the graduation list and have completed their Senior Exit Survey on Naviance will be able to pick up their cap and gown.  

Students participating in the commencement ceremony are expected to dress appropriately. Male graduates should wear dress shoes, socks, shirts with ties, and pants. Female graduates should wear low heels, skirts, dresses, or slacks. Corsages and flowers may not be worn or carried.

Students are not allowed to alter (draw, paint, add messages) their cap.

Graduates will keep their cap, gown and tassel.

The WBLAHS Commencement Ceremony  will be held on Friday, June 5, at 7:00pm at Aldrich Arena (1850 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood).

Seniors must report to the ramp area at the west end of the arena by 6:00 pm. If students elects not to participate in the ceremony, they must contact Ms. Ackerknecht in the Main Office by Thursday, May 29th.

Seating and Tickets

Students and guests will need to arrive early to avoid traffic and parking problems. We expect a full house of approximately 3,000 guests at this program.

Admission is by ticket only.

● Five tickets: Due to the large number of graduates, we are able to only give five (5) tickets to each graduate. These tickets will be handed to seniors when they pick up their cap and gown on Wednesday, May 27 during lunch. Be sure to hang on to these tickets.

● Need additional tickets? Have your graduate ask their friends first. You may also call the Main Office (651-773-6200) at the end of May to be put on a waiting list if any additional tickets become available.

● Don’t need all your tickets? Please turn them into the Main Office to be distributed to those who need additional tickets.

Conduct at Commencement

The commencement exercises are regarded as a dignified event. Graduates have completed thirteen years of education and their invited guests are coming to observe them receiving their high school diploma for this achievement. Therefore, we encourage all seniors, parents, and guests to participate in these ceremonies in a dignified manner.

Students participating in the commencement ceremony are expected to dress appropriately. Male graduates should wear dress shoes, socks, shirts with ties, and pants. Female graduates should wear low heels, skirts, dresses, or slacks. Corsages and flowers may not be worn or carried. Students are not allowed to alter (-ie- draw, paint, add messages) their cap!

Students and families have traditionally conducted themselves very well but we offer the following reminders:

● Throwing the cap following completion of the graduation ceremony is not an acceptable practice and we solicit your cooperation in eliminating this particular display.
● Friends and parents should not bring whistles, air horns or other noisemakers to the arena because the use of these items distracts from the dignity of the ceremony.
● Any student or guest who brings these items or discredits the commencement ceremony by creating a disturbance will be removed from the arena.

Diplomas

Students will receive an empty diploma cover at the commencement ceremony on June 5.  Diplomas will be available for pickup at South Campus in the Main Office starting Monday, June 8, 2020.

Summer Office hours are 7:00 am - 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

Diplomas will not be mailed. 

Final report cards for both seniors and juniors will be available in Skyward Family Access after June 15, 2020.

Final Transcripts

Each student is required to complete a Senior Exit Survey, which will ask them about future plans, including to which college(s) they would like their final transcript sent. These transcripts will be sent electronically by the end of June.

Lifetouch® will be photographing all graduates at the commencement ceremony. Everyone will be photographed and photos will be available online at events.lifetouch.com ten days after the ceremony.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Breakfast at Jimmy's Event Center & Valleyfair

Celebrate the end of the school year with your classmates at Senior Day!

The day begins with a catered breakfast and nationally known guest speaker - Tim Gabrielson.  Then, students may choose to extend the day with a trip to Valleyfair.

Tickets

Breakfast/Speaker/Senior Wills ONLY: $To be Determined
Breakfast/Speaker/Senior Wills and Bus/Valleyfair: $To be Determined

Tickets will be available for purchase through FeePay from April  until May . No tickets can be sold after May  because the catering center must be given a final count to order food. Students MUST pick-up their ticket at the Student Activities Office between May  and May .

Students going to Valleyfair MUST ride the school bus to and from Valleyfair. Parking is somewhat limited at Jimmy’s Event Center so it is recommended that students carpool to the breakfast and park in the back lot.

If needed, there will be limited seating on a shuttle bus leaving South Campus at 7:55 AM to give students a ride to Jimmy’s Event Center. Students intending to take the morning shuttle bus to Jimmy’s Event Center should Sign up at Student Services. There will also be a return bus to South Campus that will leave Jimmy’s Event Center around 10:45 AM.

Senior Day Schedule

Times are approximate and may change due to traffic, service time for food, speaker length, etc.

8:00 am - Doors open at Jimmy's Event Center

8:15 am - Breakfast is served (egg bake, hash browns, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit, coffee, juices)

9:15 am - Guest Speaker Tim Gabrielson, nationally known comedian/magician

10:15 am - Announcements

10:30 am - Students are dismissed.  Senior Wills and Summaries Available

10:45am - Buses leave for Valleyfair

11:30 am - Arrive at Valleyfair

4:45 pm - Students at front gates of Valleyfair to meet bus chaperones for departure

5:30 pm - Leave Valleyfair

6:30 pm - Arrive back at Jimmy’s Event Center

 

The senior class will be dismissed two days earlier than the rest of South Campus.  

June 1 and 2:  Finals (Seniors Only)
Seniors will complete their finals, grades will be recorded and GPA’s calculated so we can determine graduation honors.

June 3:  Senior Parade
Seniors will visit their elementary school in their caps and gowns, beginning at 9:30 am on June 6 and ending at noon.

June 4:  No school for seniors
There are no school activities scheduled for Seniors.

June 5:  Graduation Rehearsal
All seniors who plan to participate in the commencement ceremony must report to Aldrich Arena by 10:15 am on Friday, June 5. The graduation rehearsal will begin promptly at 10:30 am. It is very important that everyone be on time.

June 5:  Commencement Ceremony
The ceremony will be held on Friday, June 5, at Aldrich Arena (1850 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood). The ceremony will begin at 7:00 pm. Seniors must report to the ramp area at the west end of the arena by 6:00 pm.

If students elect not to participate in the ceremony, they must contact Ms. Ackerknecht in the Main Office by Thursday, May 29th.

Senior portraits are due November 15, 2019 to be included in the yearbook

Senior Pictures requirements:

• Portraits must be head and shoulder shots only. We will crop images that do not meet this requirement, which can result in a blurry images.
• Images resolution must be at least 300 dpi. Do not save pictures from social media sites: they are not large enough.
• Acceptable file types are .jpg and .png. No other file types can be accepted.
• Photos with animals, large props, etc. distract from the purpose of the student portrait section and will not be used.

Email pictures to wblyearbook@isd624.org.

To minimize the potential for error and to help the staff keep trace of your portraits, follow these guidelines is highly recommended:

• Put your student's full legal name in the subject of the email (or ask your photographer to do so)
• Rename the photo file name with your student's name (ex: McDowell_Suzanne.jpg)

Portraits that do not meet the above requirements will NOT be printed in the book.

Students who do not have a media release form on file will not be printed in the book. These forms are available from the office and online.

The yearbook staff reserves the right to crop/zoom portraits to keep the section consistent.

If your senior does not get his/her portrait taken by a photographer, the yearbook will include his/her Lifetouch photo, if available.  Students without portraits will be listed at the end of the senior section.