High School Graduation Day Checklist

High school graduation day checklist:

1. Clothing: Make sure to bring your cap, gown, tassel, and appropriate clothing to wear beneath the robe. If your tassel comes detached from the cap, it's easier to attach it before the ceremony. If you have an honor cord, sash, medallion, or other indicia of honors, make sure to bring that with you as well. The next page of these how-to directions will explain how to wear those items. Check the weather report for your graduation day, and if it's likely to be hot wear something light underneath. You may also want to wear sunblock if the weather is warm and your ceremony is taking place outdoors. Check your schools graduation dress code, and determine if they require men to wear a suit and/or tie, and women to wear a dress or similar formal wear.

2. Seating Assignment: Familiarize yourself with the seating arrangements, including for your friends and family, and yourself. Most high school graduations enter and exit by rows, so make sure you know roughly what side of the area, and what row, you're supposed to be on. Identify where your friends and family will be located during the ceremony so you can be sure to face that direction while walking to receive your diploma (or come back from receiving it) so they can take a good picture of you walking.

3. Purses, Backpacks, and other Bags: You will likely be walking from your seat to the podium to receive your diploma. If you're not comfortable leaving this at your seat, leave them instead with your friends or family in the audience before the ceremony begins.

4. Speeches: If you're deliverying a commencement speech of any kind, like a cum laude or honors speech, make sure you have it with you, or your notes if you are working off of notes rather than a complete speech.

5. Yearbook: This may well be the last opportunity you will have to see some of your fellow graduates, so this is a good opportunity to bring your school yearbook to gather phone numbers, addresses, and other information or mementos.

6. Graduation Cap and Gown Returns / Disposal: While many high schools now use souvenir robes, some still use rentals. If you are using a rental gown, be sure you know where to turn it in after the ceremony. Some schools are now also collecting donated robes for a recycle program, with students keeping the cap and/or tassel as a memento. Locate these recycle bins prior to the ceremony so you know where to go afterwards.

7. Diploma: Be sure you keep your diploma safely, and don't wrinkle it, since it's likely going to be framed later.

Continue with a list of things to do for the commencement at Graduation Day Dress.