Big Screen Finish
High school students going to the drive-in is nothing new, but high school students going there for graduation is the latest wrinkle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Butler County high schools struggle to balance health concerns with the traditional pomp and circumstance of graduation, Slippery Rock Area High School decided to put its departing seniors on the silver screen.
That's the screen at the Starlight Drive-In Theater in Center Township to be precise.
Slippery Rock high school recognized its senior class Thursday at the drive-in.
Diplomas had already been handed out along with caps and gowns at a drive-through event at the high school in May, said Amy Geibel, the senior class adviser and high school math teacher.
Every graduate was permitted a two-car limit for guests and family for the drive-in ceremony.
High school librarian Meghan Adams manned a video camera that projected the image of each senior onto the 40-foot-by-80-foot Screen 1 of the theater's three screens.
The top 10 students went first and then the rest of the 166 members of the graduating class were called up alphabetically.She hopes to have the footage put together so that the commencement can be posted to the district website.“We are not going to sell it to the kids. This is not the time to charge people for things,” Geibel said.The video should come complete with sound.The audio of the proceedings was broadcast to each vehicle's radio through the theater's FM transmitter, said John Manson, who is the co-owner of the Starlight with his wife, Beth.Manson, whose theater reopened May 15 under pandemic restrictions, said in addition to Slippery Rock other schools in the county have approached him about using the drive-in for graduation and other senior class activities.He said Holy Sepulcher Catholic School was holding its eighth-grade graduation at the drive-in Sunday.Beth Manson said other high schools had inquired about using the drive-in, and Slippery Rock University had contacted the Mansons, asking about using the drive-in for a September event.John Manson said a May 31 event by the Grove City High School's senior class went very well. The Grove City seniors had a 45-minute video that was shown on the screen.
“They announced everybody's names; that was broadcast on the FM transmitter, so people could hear it in their cars,” he said.Beth Manson added, “Grove City's video was 45 minutes long. It had pictures of the students and words of encouragement. It was really nice.“I would like to see what they are going to do next year to top this,” she said.Grove City High School Principal Rae Lin Howard hasn't given up on the idea of a more traditional high school commencement.“There was a ceremony/event at the Starlight Drive-In, but it was not a school sponsored event. We are still planning on holding a traditional (in-person) graduation ceremony,” Howard said. “Since Mercer County is moving to green, this allows for more possibilities.”Beth Manson said the Starlight might not be done with school events.“There are still art schools and trade schools that have approached us,” she said.Geibel said the Slippery Rock senior class plans for the trip to the drive-in started at the beginning of April when state regulations were changed to allow high school graduations.She said the senior class did not want to do a virtual graduation.“This is a very close group,” Geibel said.
As soon as the governor closed the schools for the rest of the year, the senior class officers — Nate Gill, president; Anthony Bedel, vice president; Julia Hart, treasurer, and Calla Martin, secretary — started exploring the possibilities.“They came up with the idea; their blood, sweat and tears went into this planning. We sat down and hashed it out and here we are,” Geibel said.The Mansons are charging the high schools just enough to cover staff members who are required for the COVID-19 protocols.“It is something we are doing for the community,” John Manson said.
