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Graduates to be honored at Charles City High School commencement ceremonies Sunday

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City High School Class of 2022 has been through a lot more than most graduating classes.

“They’ve had quite the four-year journey,” said CCHS Principal Bryan Jurrens. “I’m glad to say they’re making it through.”

A total of 92 graduating seniors are expected to attend commencement ceremonies honoring the CCHS Class of ’22 at Comet Gym on Sunday, starting at 1:30 p.m.

The ceremony will recognize valedictorians, 11 National Honor Society members and a Silver Cord recipient who completed 150 or more hours of community service through four years of high school. The school district will also recognize more than 40 honor students who attained a grade point average of 3.0 or better and more than 20 Gold Cord students who attained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Senior farewell addresses will be delivered by Clayton Rand and Michellel Jones. CCHS Associate Principal Heather Phillips will give the welcome address and Jurrens will announce top honor students and present the graduates. School board members will hand out the diplomas. The CCHS Orchestra and the CCHS Concert Chorale will provide music at the festivities.

Jurrens said that the class has gone through a tumultuous four years. As freshmen they endured the highest number of snow days the Charles City School District has ever seen. That seems tame now, when compared to what was to come.

When they were sophomores, school districts throughout the nation were shut down before the end of the school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As juniors, the class had to begin the year in hybrid learning, had to contend with mask mandates, social distancing requirements, canceled events and frequent quarantines.

Their senior year was largely an attempt to get back to normal, while still respecting the lingering COVID-19 mitigation protocols.

“They’ve had to work so hard to stay together and get done,” Jurrens said. “They’re grinders — they just grind through it and they’ve stuck together through it all.”

CCHS’s Class of 2022 and student body president is Hannah Jones and the Class of 2022 treasurer is Brinn Lahr. The class flower is the white peony, the class colors are white and apricot and the class motto is “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22.”

Charles City’s Carrie Lane graduates will have separate ceremony next Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Congregational Church.

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