In a message to seniors in the Class of 2020, Smith-Cotton High School Principal Wade Norton announced that the May 16 date for Commencement is canceled, and that the graduation ceremony for both Smith-Cotton and Whittier High seniors is now set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, at the Mathewson Exhibition Center on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia.
A news release says Norton noted that many questions about the event remain unanswered at this time.
“We will hold to our two objectives for your graduation ceremony,” he wrote in the message. “The first will be your health and safety; and the second will be giving you the opportunity to walk across the stage. To accomplish these objectives, we will work with local, state and federal health officials as we near the July date.”
Norton also shared that the annual Senior Awards will still be held as scheduled at 6 p.m. May 6, but as an online event.
“We will share the ceremony on the district Facebook page,” he wrote. “This new virtual platform will be interesting, but we want to continue the tradition.”