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AP PHOTOS: Celebrating high school seniors amid pandemic

The Associated Press

May 19, 2020, 6:10 PM

Meghan Wilborn, Chesnie Bell, South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 seniors Chesnie Bell, second from right, and her best friend Meghan Wilborn, right, wear their prom dresses as they wave to family and friends driving by their home in Edgewater, Md., Monday, April 20, 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Bell’s mother Trish Bell, arranged the “drive-by parade” to help lift her daughter’s spirits. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Cheyenne Lustig, South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Cheyenne Lustig of Crofton, Md., prepares to drive herself during a community-organized parade through Edgewater, Md., Saturday, April 25, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Jackson Pedersen, Soiuth River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Jackson Pedersen of Crofton, Md., waits for the start of a community-organized parade through Edgewater, Md., Saturday, May 2, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Aly Yates, South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Aly Yates of Edgewater, Md., jumps over caution tape outside the South River High School in Edgewater, Md., Wednesday, May 13, 2020, as park of a senior prank. Despite the closure of the school because of the coronavirus pandemic, the students are finding ways to keep traditions alive while their family and friends are finding new ways to celebrate and recognize their seniors. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Jocelyn Fillius, South River High School Seniors
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Jocelyn Fillius, 18, of Churchtom, Md., second from right, along with other South River High School senior make their way down a road during a community-organized parade, Saturday, April 25, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled. Parades were organized, they lit up the night and decorated their homes as well as being adopted by strangers who brought them gifts. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Ashlet Reed, South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Ashley Reed, 17, of Edgewater Md., waits for the start of a community-organized parade that began in the school parking lot in Edgewater, Saturday, April 25, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Jessica Lyon, Autumn Hengen, South River High School
South River High School STEM Department Chair Jessica Lyon, left, presents Autumn Hengen, right, with the STEM Hawk Award, during an event at South River High School in Edgewater, Md., Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the school arranged for students to pick up their awards, cap and gown, and other Class of 2020 souvenirs in the school parking lot. The award is given to the male and female student who has demonstrated the best of STEM principles and ideals, not only over senior year, but over the entire time in the program. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 seniors take a group photo after decorating their school during a senior prank at South River High School in Edgewater, Md., Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Despite the closure of the school because of the coronavirus pandemic, the students are finding way to keep traditions alive while their family and friends are finding new ways to celebrate and recognize their seniors. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Sam Peterson, Harley Snead, South River High School
South River High School seniors Sam Peterson, left, and his cousin Harley Snead, right, both from Edgewater, Md., toss their caps for a photo shoot with a friend outside the South River High School in Edgewater, Thursday, May 14, 2020. Despite the closure of the school because of the coronavirus pandemic, the students are finding ways to keep traditions alive while their family and friends are finding new ways to celebrate and recognize their seniors. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Melina Cramer, South River High School
A photo of South River High School Class of 2020 senior Melina Cramer is displayed in the window of her home in Edgewater, Md., Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors. Cramer’s mother, Mary Cramer, felt she needed to be as creative as possible this year to make sure her daughter felt special given that the traditional senior activities were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Lisa Sullivan, Joey Hartge, South River High School
Lisa Sullivan, center, and her son Joey Hartge, left, install balloons along a fence at their Edgewater, Md., home Saturday, April 25, 2020, as their dog Molly keeps them company. Hartge is a senior at South River High School in Edgewater, Md., and Williams was decorating the banner celebrating her son on the day that was supposed to be the senior prom. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled due to coronavirus. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Isabel McGuire, Mickey McGuire, Catherine McGuire, South River High School
South River High School Class of 2020 senior Isabel McGuire, center, flanked by her parents Mickey McGuire, left, and Catherine McGuire, right, watch former President Barack Obama addressed the high school Class of 2020, in their home in Edgewater, Md., Saturday, May 16, 2020. Despite the closure of the school because of the coronavirus pandemic, the students are finding ways to keep traditions alive while their family and friends are finding new ways to celebrate and recognize their seniors. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Hogan Cassell, Marie Livingston
South Rive High School Class of 2020 senior Hogan Cassell, right, puts out his hand in an attempt to catch documents as the wind blows them past South River Senior Class adviser and teacher Marie Livingston in the parking lot of South River High School in Edgewater, Md., Monday, May 11, 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, students picked up their caps and gowns, awards and other student gifts in the school parking lot. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
South River Hich School
A car is decorated to celebrate the South River High School Class of 2020 during a family parade in Edgewater, Md., Monday, April 20, 2020. Many of the South River High School families found ways to celebrate their seniors given that prom, graduation and other traditional senior activities were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
(1/14)
Meghan Wilborn, Chesnie Bell, South River High School
Cheyenne Lustig, South River High School
Jackson Pedersen, Soiuth River High School
Aly Yates, South River High School
Jocelyn Fillius, South River High School Seniors
Ashlet Reed, South River High School
Jessica Lyon, Autumn Hengen, South River High School
South River High School
Sam Peterson, Harley Snead, South River High School
Melina Cramer, South River High School
Lisa Sullivan, Joey Hartge, South River High School
Isabel McGuire, Mickey McGuire, Catherine McGuire, South River High School
Hogan Cassell, Marie Livingston
South River Hich School

EDGEWATER, Md. (AP) — No prom. No graduation. No award ceremonies. No last school pranks.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of so much, but parents at one Maryland high school were determined to make their children’s senior spring memorable nonetheless.

They scoured the internet to see how other families were celebrating their kids. In the end, the community did it all to send off the graduates of Edgewater’s South River High School in style — a mishmash of car parades and drive-thru award ceremonies, house decorating and an adopt-a-senior program.

Trish Bell couldn’t bear to see her daughter, Chesnie Bell, miss prom. So she arranged for friends and family to drive by the house, while Chesnie — in a floor-length red gown — waved from the front yard with a friend.

That was just one of several parades. Others were more formal: Students in cars met at the high school and got a police and fire escort as they wound their way through the town just south of Annapolis, honking their horns while onlookers held up signs and cheered them on.

Families with seniors decorated their homes; teachers handed out awards, caps and gowns and school swag at a drive-thru “ceremony” in the school parking lot; and the seniors got in one last gag, covering the high school with caution tape.

Many students also participated in the county’s “adopt-a-senior” program, in which community members volunteer to buy gifts for a graduating student they don’t know. The families often met when the gifts were given — creating new connections even during a time marked by isolation.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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