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Dear Seniors and Senior Parents,

It is hard to believe that graduation day is almost here! We are excited to celebrate our seniors this week, and look forward to seeing you at our Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation. Thank you again for your partnership, and we look forward to celebrating with you this weekend!

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Katie Teekell
Principal

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Jason D. Curtis
President

Senior Activities

  • Monday, May 24 — Final Final / Senior Sunset

  • Final Final will be held on Monday, May 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., with Senior Sunset to follow at 8:18 PM.  

  • Thursday, May 27 — Last Day of Regular Classes
  • Thursday, May 27 — Senior Picnic

    The Senior Picnic will be held on Thursday, May 27, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm  on the pool deck. There will be music and a barbecue lunch sponsored by the Student Council. This is a great end-of-year event and a time to share stories with your classmates. Be sure to be there!

  • Friday, May 28 — Graduation Practice

    Graduation Practice is Friday, May 28, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Graduates will meet on the football field at 8:00 a.m. Unlike the Senior Ball or the picnic, this practice is MANDATORY for every senior participating in graduation, and any senior who is absent from the practice will not be included in Saturday’s graduation ceremony. You will receive your cap, gown and stole at the rehearsal.

  • Friday, May 28 — Senior Paint Up Event

    Seniors are invited to come and PAINT UP the 300 Building, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will not only celebrate the history of this building but will also give students the opportunity to imagine Saint Francis's future use of that space. Students are encouraged to attend the event with their friends and to decorate a small corner of the iconic building. A brief survey will be sent out beforehand to gauge student interest, but all Seniors are invited!! Students should bring their own food or drinks. 

Baccalaureate Mass

We are looking forward to celebrating the Class of 2021 at our Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 28th. Mass will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Quad, with entrances opening at 5:00 p.m. for check-in. Graduates should register for the Baccalaureate Mass using their SFHS email account by Wednesday, May 26th. Additional information regarding parking and seating will be sent to all registered families. Please note: each graduate may bring up to four guests, and graduates should wear their graduation gowns (no cap). We hope all of our seniors will join us for this sacred tradition, as we celebrate Mass together for the last time with the Class of 2021.

Graduation

EventBrite Instructions

Later today, each graduate will receive an email from graduation@sfhs.com with instructions for how to register their attendees through EventBrite. Graduates will receive this message by 4 pm today in their SFHS account. If your graduate does not see the email or is having any issues with registration, please have them contact graduation@sfhs.com directly. Specific instructions regarding your EventBrite tickets will be provided in the registration email.

Parking and Check-In

Guest parking will be available in all school lots as well as in the El Camino Hospital parking garage. The El Camino Hospital parking garage can be accessed from North Drive. The campus road will be closed to through traffic, so you will need to access the school parking lots either through South Drive (600 lot) or North Drive (Raskob lot). The 100, 300 and Miramonte parking lots can be accessed from the school entrance on Miramonte Avenue. Drop off for ridesharing services is permitted only at the Miramonte Avenue or South Drive entrances. 

Graduates with last names A-Law will have their attendees check in at the entrance to the visitor bleachers (V), and graduates with last names Lax-Z will have their attendees check in at the 600 lot gate closest to the home bleachers (H). 

Please refer to this map to view section and check-in locations. Please check your seating assignments and the map in advance to ensure you are checking in at the proper location, regardless of where you choose to park.

Ceremony

As a reminder, graduates will report to the Quad at 7:30 a.m., and gates will open for seating at 7:00 a.m. Graduates will begin to process in at 8:45 a.m., and our ceremony will begin at 9:00 a.m. We will also be broadcasting our ceremony live through our school YouTube channel.

After the Ceremony

Unfortunately, families are unable to gather or remain on campus following the ceremony due to state requirements for this event. We greatly appreciate your support and cooperation in exiting the stadium and returning to your car after the ceremony concludes. 

Graduates had the opportunity to register one parent to meet them at their designated recessional location (either the softball field or baseball field) following the ceremony. The designated parent should check in to that location immediately following the ceremony. Our educators will be on hand to help direct you. Many of our graduates indicated that they would not need a parent to pick them up as they planned to drive themselves to graduation, so please check in with your child if you have any questions.

As a reminder, we have scheduled two full days (June 2nd and 3rd) for graduates and their families to return to campus to take graduation photos in our Quad. Please sign up here by Thursday, May 27th if you would like to participate.

Important Guidelines

  1. Due to CDPH guidelines regarding capacity limitations, we have determined that up to four family members per graduate will be allowed for the graduation ceremony. Please note that the state requires all graduation attendees to be in-state residents who are members of the same household unit. All four attendees will be seated together, and seating will be arranged to accommodate blocks of up to four people, spaced six feet apart.

    We understand how important this rite of passage is for our graduates and their families, and that it is difficult to not be able to have friends or extended family members in attendance. We are nevertheless grateful for the opportunity to host graduation in-person and to give our seniors a special ceremony this year. We will be livestreaming our graduation to allow our broader community to be part of this important ceremony.
     

  2. All attendees, including graduates, MUST pre-register for graduation. This is a requirement from the state in order to host graduation on campus. Only pre-registered attendees will be allowed to attend.

    We will send a follow-up email in May with more information on registration, parking, arrival and check-in, and exiting from the stadium.
     

  3. All attendees, including graduates, must complete a Covid-19 self-screening for fever and other symptoms prior to attending graduation. If you are feeling ill, have symptoms, or have potentially been exposed to someone with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, you should not attend the graduation event.
     

  4. Graduates will report to the quad at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 29. They must wear masks, and be spaced 6 feet apart at all times in accordance with CPDH requirements for graduation ceremonies. Please note that graduation will begin at 9:00 a.m. 

    All seating will be assigned this year, with families assigned to the side of the field where their graduates will be seated. Seating assignments will be included with tickets as part of the check-in process.

    Gates will open for seating starting at 7:00 a.m. to ensure adequate time for check-in given the strict guidelines. The graduates will begin to process in at 8:45 a.m. The commencement ceremony begins promptly at 9:00 a.m. and should conclude by 11:30 a.m.

  5. State guidelines prevent us from being able to allow group gatherings or photographs on campus following graduation. We will be scheduling appointments the week of May 31st for graduates to sign up to take photos in the quad with their family members, and will provide photo backdrops as well. Again, we know how important these memories are for our families and appreciate you helping us to support them safely and in compliance with state requirements.

Additional Details

  • Graduation announcements were distributed before Easter break. If you have any questions about your order, please email our Jostens representative,  Mr. Daniel Grobeck, at daniel.grobeck@jostens.com. Remember, an announcement is NOT a ticket for on-field seating at the commencement ceremony.

  • Graduation photos will be taken of each graduate by Grad Images. See the attached flyer for more information.

  • Graduates who will be driving themselves to the graduation ceremony are asked to park in the El Camino Hospital parking garage, which can be accessed from North Drive.

  • Guest parking will be available in the school lots as well as in the El Camino Hospital parking garage. The El Camino Hospital parking garage can be accessed from North Drive. The campus quad will be closed to through traffic, so you will need to access the school parking lots either through South Drive (600 lot) or North Drive (Raskob lot). The 100, 300 and Miramonte parking lots can be accessed from the school entrance on Miramonte Avenue. Drop off for ridesharing services is permitted only at the Miramonte Avenue or South Drive entrances.

  • Some festivities are not sponsored by Saint Francis but are planned by our parents. This includes Senior Grad Night on Saturday, May 29. The Grad Night Event is at capacity and registration is closed. For information on the Senior Grad Night events, please email sfhsgradnight2021@gmail.com.

Lawn Signs

The purchase of Senior Lawn Signs is a parent-sponsored project being coordinated independently from the school. For more information, please contact Maria Sit at sit.mariar@gmail.com.