PA seniors enter ‘crunch time’ for graduation
More stories from Emmett Duquette
With graduation scheduled for June 8, and senior final exams beginning on May 28, Pembroke Academy seniors have entered “crunch time,” the final leg of their high school journey.
As senioritis sets in, some seniors are starting to panic as they try struggle to earn better grades and finish their performance projects, knowing their participation in the graduation ceremony may hang in the balance.
In order to participate in the graduation ceremony, seniors must both complete The PA Performance Project and pass their English course.
The PA Performance Project consists of completing 30 hours of community service, writing a senior essay that addresses the school essential question (“How Should I Live My Life?”) and a resume, filling out a post-graduation plan and conducting an exit interview with a staff member.
Seniors must also complete the performance project in order to go on the class trip.
For senior and class salutatorian Levi Putnam, the senior essay was the most meaning part of the project.
“I put a lot of time into thinking about the essay,” said Putnam. “When you’ve been in high school for four years the essay is easy to write. Once I started writing, the words just flowed out.”
For the exit interview, students are expected to arrive on time, speak clearly and dress professionally. Senior and editor of the Spartans Speak Autumn Chase recently completed her interview.
“I chose to do my exit interview at the end of March because I didn’t want it to be looming over my head going into April and May,” said Chase. “I wore a suit, had my resume ready and arrived at my interview ten minutes early to make sure I had enough time to talk with my interviewer so we didn’t have to rush anything.”
In order to walk at graduation, seniors must also pass their senior English class. For seniors with class grades hovering around 2.0, this time is particularly stressful.
“I usually don’t pass in my work, and then I get stressed and feel like giving up,” said senior Allysha Howell.
However, “Crunch time” is finite, but graduation is forever.
Hi, my name is Emmett Duquette, and I'm a senior at Pembroke Academy. One thing you may not know is that I'm transgender FTM, which means female to male....
