Senior Graduation Information

1. Senior Graduation Information CLASS OF 2018

2. Mandatory Graduation Events • If you cannot attend any of the mandatory meetings and/or graduation rehearsals, you must contact Mr. Mehlbrech or risk losing the privilege of walking the stage. • If you do not plan to participate in the graduation ceremony, you still need to contact Mr. Mehlbrech. We need to know in order to make sure we have an accurate line-up June 9th.

3. Graduation Rehearsal Dress CodeSchool Dress Code* • Rehearsal on the Band Pad* • Tank Tops will be allowed • Hats will be allowed • Bring / put on Sunscreen • Bring extra water to drink • Rehearsal at the Coliseum • It will be cold inside the coliseum • You will most likely want to: • Wear pants • Bring a jacket

4. Wednesday, June 6 MorningMandatory Graduation RehearsalBand Parking Lot • There will be NO PARKING on the Band Pad on this day. • 8:00 – 8:30 Taco Breakfast – Band Pad • Pick up your Seat Label from your Counselor no later than 8:35 a.m. • You must be in your seat no later than 8:45 a.m. to begin Graduation Practice. • During Graduation Practice – please pay attention. The faster we can get all the graduation parts correct, the faster we can get out of the sun.

5. Sample Seat Label

6. Graduation Parking Passes • Senior Parking Passes: Mrs. Cobb, Mrs. Koehl, and Ms. Rinehart will hand you a parking pass. • Parking Pass is only valid with the graduate, cap & gown in the vehicle. • The graduate cannot give this pass to a parent to drive separately. • You need a parking pass to park at graduation! Your ONLY opportunity to get a Senior Parking Pass is at this graduation rehearsal! • If you lose the pass, you will have to pay $3.50 if the graduate and a cap & gown are in the vehicle to enter Lot 9. (Graduate Lot)

7. Picture of Parking Pass SAMPLE ONLY

8. Outstanding Obligations • You need to clear ALLobligations before June 7, to ensure that you get your cap and gown. • Any senior still owing money or if you have not turned in a textbook, you will NOTbe able to pick up your cap and gown. • You will not be permitted towalk the stage with any pending obligations.

9. Wednesday, June 6 AfternoonMandatory Graduation Rehearsal atFreeman Coliseum @ 3:30 pm • It is really cold in the coliseum – so please wear layers of clothes. • Ladies, it might be a good idea to wear the shoes you are going to wear to graduation to graduation practice. The floor is really slippery and the ramp off the stage is treacherous. • Drive carefully around the Coliseum. There are police officers who will pull you over and ticket you. Drive safely!

10. Wednesday, June 6 AfternoonMandatory Graduation Rehearsal atFreeman Coliseum @ 3:30 pm • Parking on Rehearsal Day: for Rehearsal Day ONLY, you will park in Lot 1 • You MUST be at Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum by 3:00 p.m., at the front doors to pick up your seat label. • Once you are in your seat at 3:30 p.m., please pay careful attention to the instructions you are given.

11. FREEMAN COLISEUM Main Entrance / Front Doors Graduation Rehearsal Parking

12. Thursday, June 7 Senior Meeting • Arrival no later than 8:45 am and be seated in the auditorium • Graduation Information • Senior Slide Show • Cap & Gown • BBQ • FREE  for the day

13. Thursday, June 7Mandatory Senior Meeting in the Auditorium • Once Senior Meeting is over, if you do not have any obligations, you pick up your cap and gown from Jostens; followed by the Senior Barbeque: • Bill Miller’s BBQ is set up in the front of the school near the Art Patio. • You must have your food ticket that was given to you when you signed in today. • Pick up your food and you are free for the rest of today!

14. Saturday, June 9 Graduation at Freeman Coliseum • Seniors are to report behind the stage at Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum by 1:30 p.m. • You must be in your lines by 1:45 p.m. • NO PARENTS, OR OTHER NON-GRADUATING STUDENTS, WILL BE ALLOWED ON OR BEHIND THE STAGE AT ANY TIME.

15. Graduation Dress Code • Men are required towear a dress shirt and tie, slacks, socks, and dress shoes. • Ladies should wear a nice, street-length dress and comfortable heels. (Long dresses that show below the graduation gown may not look good.) • Nice dress slacks are acceptable. • Be cautious of wearing high heels. Ramps are steep. • Everyone: • NO Vans, Sperry’s, work boots, tennis shoes, slides, Birkenstocks, flip-flops, jeans, t-shirts, etc.) • No colored hair or piercing other than in the ears will be allowed. NEISD Dress Code Regulations will be strictly enforced. (unconventional hair color will not be allowed at the ceremony)

16. PersonalItems – Phones and Purses • ABSOLUTELY NO PHONES OR ELECTRONICS! • Graduates are not allowed to bring any phones, electronics, purses, bags, etc. out onto the graduation floor. There will not be a place for you to secure these items. The best place will be for you to leave them at home, with your parents, or in your car. • As you enter the coliseum, you will be asked to turn in all phones, electronic devices, or other materials to be returned with your diploma. • Anything that appears to be distracting will be confiscated.

17. Cell Phones, Purses and Car Keys • All cell phones will be collected as you enter Freeman Coliseum graduation night. We will place your cell phone in a plastic bag with your name on it. After graduation, you will collect your phone. • Purses- We do not have a holding place for purses. I suggest having your parents keep your purse through graduation. You will not be allowed to have it on the graduation floor. • Graduation caps MAY NOT be decorated. If they are decorated, they will be confiscated (you will not get them back) and you will be issued a new cap. • Car Keys- We do not collect car keys. Keep them with you. Keep them hidden at all times.

18. No Medals / Pins • Only the honor chords for Summa, Magna, and Cum Laude are worn at graduation. No other chords are allowed. • Honor Stoles, like this one, are also allowed for honor (NHS) graduates. Officers are white and members are blue. • These are NEISD guidelines, not Johnson HS rules for graduation.

19. Graduation Behavior • You are expected to walk across the stage in a respectful and responsible manner. • No hand gestures, noises, or inappropriate poses. • Your behavior is expected to be exemplary. This is a very nice occasion with a lot of hard work put behind it. This is a dignified occasion with the District Executive Staff and the Board Members. Don’t embarrass yourself or your family. If you act inappropriately, we will pull you off stage or out of your seat and make you wait backstage with the constables.

20. Graduation Behavior • Seniors who engage in inappropriate behavior will not be allowed to continue in the ceremony and must pick up their diplomas from Mr. Mehlbrech at a later date. • Please make every effort to make this a solemn occasion. Follow instructions explicitly and play an important part in making this the best graduation that has ever been held. Listen and be ready.

21. Graduate Parking – Graduates ONLY • Each senior should have received a parking permit for graduation. This parking permit will allow seniors to park in the graduate area. • In order for the parking permit to be valid, the senior MUST have a cap and gown in the car. If you do not have a cap and gown and/or parking pass, you will not be able to park in the graduate area. • Graduates will be charged $3.50 for parking if they lose their parking pass. This parking pass will let Seniors park in Lot 9

22. Freeman Coliseum Parking You enter here

23. Graduation Parking • Drive slowly at the coliseum. Every year the coliseum hires extra police and they have ticketed graduates for reckless driving. • Doors open as early as 1:30 p.m. Get there early. Tell your family to arrive early as there will be traffic. There is also lots of construction around the coliseum, (i.e. weather conditions, trains, highway accidents)

24. Parking for Parents and Guests • Two Options: • Pre-Sale Parking Permits • $7.00 • Can be purchased through the Principal’s Office. • If you lose your ticket, you will have to purchase another one the day of Graduation. • On the day of Graduation • Each car will be charged $10 to park • Please have exact change to make the line go faster. • General Parking will be in Lots 1, 2, 3

25. Parking for Graduation Where graduatespark ONLY Graduatesenter here Lot 9 Parent / Guest parking

26. Graduation Information During the Ceremony • Keep your graduation caps on during the presentation of colors and the National Anthem. • Stay seated and quiet throughout the ceremony. There are times when you are given directions either from the stage or from the floor and you need to pay attention to those directions. • While on stage receiving your diplomas, seniors who make any gestures other than to shake hands with the Principal and Board Member, will be removed and not allowed to continue in the ceremony. These seniors will be seated backstage and wait for the principal after the ceremony.

27. Graduation Information After the Ceremony • After the recessional, you will proceed to a designated area to pick up your diploma. You will keep your cap and gown. • Please end the ceremony in an orderly and dignified recessional. Congratulate your friends after leaving the coliseum. • You are expected to demonstrate the Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson pride, which distinguishes this Class of 2018.

28. Graduation Video • We will be streaming the graduation live. Go to North East’s Website www.neisd.net, click on the active link. The link will appear approximately 30 minutes before graduation starts. • The Graduation Video will be uploaded to You Tube at a later date. • You can preview previous Graduations on You Tube

29. Animated Processional