About 500 to graduate Friday in Clovis

CLOVIS — About 500 Clovis High School students are scheduled to celebrate graduation success on Friday night.

“It’s the largest (graduating class) we’ve had in quite some time,” Superintendent Jody Balch said.

Clovis High School Principal Jay Brady is in his second year at the high school, after stops at elementary and middle schools in Clovis. He said he enjoyed seeing the students’ transformations from when they first came to elementary school to the time they’re ready to graduate.

“It’s amazing to see how they’ve changed and how they’ve matured and grown up,” Brady said.

Senior Counselor Melissa Winn said this year’s graduating class is her favorite group of kids over her decade-plus at the high school.

“I’d love to keep them until I retire,” Winn said. “If I could do anything that’s what I’d do and I’d walk out right with them but that would be selfish because they’re going to do big things, I really believe that.”

CHS graduation will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the Curry County Events Center, with the doors opening at 4 p.m.

To keep the ceremony running smoothly, the school district sent out a press release last week highlighting a number of items that are not allowed at graduation including:

• Noisemakers such as air horns, cow bells and whistles

• Signs such as posters and banners

• Throwing or possessing beach balls, balloons, confetti and other related items

• Delivery of graduation gifts at the Curry County Events Center

Balch said the rules are nothing new.

“These same standards have been part of the process for a lot of years and they don’t work perfectly but they help,” Balch said.

Balch said items like horns and bells are prohibited to ensure that when a student’s name is called to receive their diploma, the next student’s name isn’t drowned out by noise.

“It’s not fair to the following student and their family to not hear their name called,” Balch said.

Balch said beach balls and similar items are not allowed because the ceremony is meant to be a formal process that marks the conclusion of the students’ public education, and there’s nothing formal about a beach ball.

Balch did add that it can be difficult to enforce the restrictions or impose punishments for any violations considering the students will not be coming back to Clovis schools.