Father Joseph Bongard, the school rector, says teachers and staff know exactly how the 220 seniors are feeling and wanted to give them some hope for the future.
“We knew that there were signature events in their life such as the prom, the awards assembly, the sports assemblies and certainly baccalaureate and graduation exercises. So we initially started planning right away to say what do we do depending on how long this quarantine lasts?” Bongard said.
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When Gov. Tom Wolf closed schools for the rest of the academic year, Bongard says Roman decided to come up with a plan for a prom and graduation ceremonies in late July.
If restrictions are still in place, he says, they’ll move events to mid-August.
Bongard says he just sent out letters and emails to students and parents a few days ago outlining the possibilities.
“One of the major caveats here is that the federal and state officials say it’s okay for us to assemble and also that we’re given permission to do this. That being the case, we’re literally ready to go,” he added.
Bongard says seniors have responded enthusiastically.
“They have been very, very supportive and overwhelmed at the fact that we have them in our heart. We want to make sure that we’re going to do everything within our power to make sure that these events take place and they have these memories for their life,” he said.
Bongard says they’re also working on a Plan B that could involve a series of virtual events.