FVHS seniors will be graduating Thursday, June 17, at 12:00 p.m. as the class of 2025 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Graduates and guests are encouraged to be there by 11:00 a.m. to account for travel times and traffic. Graduates will be lined up at 11:50 a.m., and any late students may not be allowed to join the processional. The ceremony will also feature a live photographer for students and their families.
South Street in downtown Raleigh, near the Raleigh Convention Center, is permanently closed between Dawson and McDowell streets to account for the planning of a new amphitheater and convention center expansion. There is a parking garage next to the convention center which costs $10 per spot.
All graduates must complete a google form to process their graduation status in PowerSchool by May 4. It will also be used to generate future plans for Senior Recognition Night. Students who have received a scholarship or award from a college, university or private organization must also fill out the 2025 Senior Scholarship Award form by May 16 and submit as many responses as scholarships or awards received. If a graduate is notified of a scholarship or award after May 16, they should contact Cynthia Wood in Student Services.
The official FVHS Senior Night will be held at the school on Thursday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m. It’s a fun night that emphasizes togetherness and fun for the graduating seniors. The following morning, on Friday, June 6, 7:35 a.m., Senior Day will be held also at the school in the gym. Senior Day is a mandatory rehearsal for graduating seniors to practice the ceremony. Free breakfast and lunch will also be provided, alongside fun games and raffles.
On April 30, a meeting was held in the auditorium for the senior class. Principal Mike James went over the expectations for graduation and debriefed the graduating class about their upcoming duties.
James said, “[The senior class is] a culmination of 12 years of work, our latest group of young people who are going to go and be productive citizens somewhere and will always represent the community. Graduates of every year are so important because y’all are proof that we worked hard to help get you the education that our community expects and that you’re prepared to go and live life to the fullest.”
There are some rules and restrictions required of both WCPSS and the Raleigh Convention Center. Caps are not allowed to be decorated. This means graduates are not permitted to paint, glue, or otherwise alter the cap’s appearance. Nothing is to be worn outside of the gown, except approved cords and medals. Indigenous Native American people are also allowed to wear something representing their tribal affiliation.
The dress code set by the school limits graduates’ wardrobe to collared dress shirts with a tie, dress pants, dark socks, light weight dresses shorter than the gown, minimal jewelry and dress shoes–including pumps and stilettos. No cell phones, purses, bags, flowers, balloons, presents, cameras or other electronic devices are allowed to be carried into the ceremony.
Graduates are also not allowed to throw their caps in the air during the ceremony. Alongside the rule restricting decoration of the caps, graduates may be disappointed in their lack of choices. It’s a popular graduation tradition which started with military and naval academies and filtered into the educational sector. However, the limitations are there to protect the integrity and appropriateness of ceremony.
The focus on caps is also due to their significance. Graduates have to show their name written inside of the cap to a staff member distributing diplomas to receive theirs. The tassel is important for them to preserve for when all graduates move the tassel from the right side of the cap to the left, signifying their graduation. The limits are there to prevent any obstruction of their already planned traditions.
Chorus teacher Tyler Cole will be reading the names at the ceremony, and graduates should contact him if they have any concerns about their name’s pronunciation. Names will be read aloud according to the information in PowerSchool, meaning full names and no nicknames.
Graduates were excited to hear that guest tickets have been raised from four to eight per student due to the increased amount of seating at the Raleigh Convention Center, which is a new venue for FVHS graduations.
James said, “Here’s the cool thing, if there are siblings graduating in this class, each sibling gets eight tickets. Combined, that’s 16! Last year was limited to four, so you had to be real picky about who you brought. You want graduation to be fun, although you have to maintain the level of the decorum and expectations that make the ceremony as dignified as it is, but at the same time, you want kids to be able to walk across that stage with a smile and leave with a sense of accomplishment. Both can be done.”
