Comprehensive Guide to Lahser and Andover Graduations

The Graduation Ceremony

Seniors from both and will be graduating at Meadow Brook's Howard C. Baldwin Memorial Pavilion, located on Oakland University's campus, on Sunday, June 12. Andover’s commencement starts at 1 p.m., and Lahser’s will begin at 5 p.m. The 230 Andover graduates should show up no later than noon, but 11:45 a.m. would be best, according to associate principal Lou Ruggirello. The approximately 215 Lahser graduates have a little extra leeway and should be onsite by 4:15 p.m. Both ceremonies are expected to last about an hour and a half, perhaps a little over.

Make Sure Your Child Graduates

Although grades have hit the books and cannot be salvaged at this point, graduates do need to turn in all of their textbooks and library books, and pay any outstanding fines they may have at the school before they are handed their diploma. If your child has received their cap and gown from the school already, then they should be in the clear.

Directions and Parking

Meadow Brook is located at 480 South Adams Road in Rochester. Parking officials will be onsite upon entering the facility directing attendees on where to park. Handicap parking is available as well.  Be sure not to show up just minutes before the ceremony begins because you can expect to have a long hike to the facility.

The most efficient way to get to the pavilion is by taking I-75 North to Exit 77-A toward Utica, which merges onto M-59 East. After driving two miles on M-59, take the Adams Road exit, 42. Turn left onto S. Adams Road and after approximately two miles you will come to Meadow Brook Road. Turn left to enter onto Oakland University’s campus and follow Meadow Brook Road straight in until directed to the parking lot on your left. From Lahser High School the drive, according to Mapquest, takes 14 minutes and from Andover High School it takes 16 minutes.

Weather

Sunday should be a great day to graduate with a weather forecast of mostly sunny skies, 72 degrees midday and 10 percent chance of precipitation according to Weather.com. In case the forecast should change and a heat front should roll in again, Tracy Hall, Associate Principal at Lahser, advises bringing a bottle of water to keep cool. For women, slapping a hair tie on the wrist just in case is a good idea. Also, be sure to grab a program when venturing into graduation, they come in handy not just as a souvenir but as a fan too.

Having a Plan

It’s best to go to Meadow Brook with a plan — or at least make one there upon arrival. Instead of taking separate cars, it’s easiest to drive to Meadow Brook with the son or daughter that is graduating. This allows for saved gas, and will give the family some time to scope out good seats. Associate principals at both Lahser and Andover advised getting to Meadow Brook early, especially if pavilion seating is desired. The front of the pavilion seating will be reserved for the graduates and the rest will be first come, first serve. There is room for 2,819 in the pavilion and then there is excess grass seating available.

“If you do want that covered seating and to be out of the elements I would say arrive early,” Hall said.

Once arriving on site, or prior to, make a plan of action for after the ceremony. This will probably be the best opportunity for photos, but it can sometimes be hectic locating your child, or vice versa. Even with cell phones, the noise after the ceremony will simply provide for a game of phone tag. If a plan is made ahead of time, describing a vicinity to meet at, for example by the entrance sign, then it will relieve some after graduation stress and allow more time for photos onsite.  The graduate may want to consider coordinating with close friends as well that they will want a picture with.

Tickets

For pavilion seating, Andover graduates are each allotted five tickets to pass out to family and friends they want at their ceremony. Ruggirello noted that there are extra tickets available if graduates have a larger family and arrangements can be made by calling the school ahead of time.

Hall noted that Lahser typically passes out tickets for graduation, so if you’ve been waiting for your grad to hand you tickets to pass out to your family, no worries, they aren’t distributing them this year. According to Hall the tickets seemed to be a wasted effort because they never ended up turning anyone away regardless if they didn’t have a ticket in hand.

“Meadow Brook has such a high seating capacity that we made the decision this year that we’re not going to print tickets,” Hall said.

How to Dress

Although school officials want the graduates to be comfortable, dressier apparel is preferred under their cap and gown. Guys are requested to wear a button down and dress pants at Andover and are requested to wear a long tie in addition at Lahser. For girls a light colored dress, or light blouse and skirt is advised.

“I’ve always thought of graduation as a solemn affair. I like to keep it kind of formalized,” Ruggirello said. “And believe it or not I have this aversion to beach balls at graduation.”

As for shoes for girls, light colored sandals or low heels work best. Even though some graduates undoubtedly will show up in stilettos, they should be cautioned that they will be meeting in a grassy field and will have to walk down a steep set of stairs. Boys should wear a pair of dark colored dress shoes and leave the sandals and tennis shoes at home.

“We encourage the girls not to wear heels that are too high,” Hall said. “We don’t want them falling.”

Some students in the past have screamed their creative flair by decorating their caps with paint, sequins and glitter. However, both Hall and Ruggirello said they prefer graduates do not do this, or add anything ornamental to their attire.

Photography

Aside from before and after graduation photos onsite, photos will be a bit tricky at Meadow Brook. Crowd control polices the area pretty strictly and parents are only allotted space on the far grassy lots a ways back from either side of the stage. If unsure what the photography parameters are, don’t worry, a crowd control man will tell you – regardless if you were asking.

Hall does ask that attendees refrain from standing to take photographs because it hinders the view of everyone sitting behind them. Without a camera with a good zoom, odds of snapping a frame-worthy photo are slim with the restrictions at Meadow Brook, so Hall said it’s best to sit back and soak in the exciting affair.

For Andover and Lahser Lifetouch will be at the pavilion snapping photographs of each graduate as they walk on and off the stage. Photographs will be available for purchase soon after graduation.

If you want more than a framed photo to remember the life-changing day, each school will have a videographer on the scene as well taping the commencement. DVDs are going to be $20 and should come available within a few days after graduation, said Hall. For more information call Andover or Lahser’s main office.

“Parents should take advantage of the things that we are offering,” Hall said. “We do it so that our guests can sit back and enjoy the moment.”

Speakers

Neither Andover nor Lahser rank their graduates so speeches are not given by a valedictorian, salutatorian or necessarily a top scholar. Instead, each school has developed a speaker selection process over the years that fits their school appropriately.

At Andover graduating seniors Rachel Rohr and Michael Linden will represent the Class of 2011. According to Ruggirello, every year they have a senior class meeting prior to spring break and everyone votes for someone to be the graduation speaker. Two weeks ago it was formally announced that Rohr and Linden would be addressing the class.

“It’s kids who other kids have looked up to; kids who have made a difference during the time they’ve been here,” Ruggirello said.

For Lahser, seniors audition for the speaking slots. This year four students read their speeches aloud to a small audience and they were rated in terms of poise, how animated they were and the content of their speech.

“We look for the speeches that appeal to a wider audience,” Hall said. “We don’t want the speech just to speak to the graduates, we would like the parents and grandparents to be involved too on this day.”

Hall could not disclose who the two speakers are this year, although they are a boy and girl. She noted it is a surprise to many.

Senior All Night Parties

Both Andover and Lahser graduates will have an all night celebration the night of their graduations.

Lahser’s All Knight Party starts at 10 p.m. and runs until 4 a.m. and takes place at Lahser High School. According to Pat Short, ticket chair for the party, a large majority of the senior class has already purchased their tickets, which are now $95. The theme for the party is Knight Club and Short said the class will be pleased with the decorations and fun filled activities. She also noted that plenty of parents have stepped up to offer their time to help out the night of.

“Everything is positive about this class,” Short said. “We’ve had great parents who have supported us with our time and fundraising.”

Andover could still use some parent volunteers for their all night senior party at Andover, Marci Bloom-Vettesse, volunteer coordinator for the party, noted. If interested in helping to decorate the facility starting at 3 p.m. or in aiding from 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. contact Bloom at marci.bloom15@gmail.com or call (248) 855-0765.  Tickets can still be purchased at the door the night of the party for $110. Andover’s party kicks off at 10 p.m. and traditionally this Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) organized event has nearly 100 percent participation from the graduating class.

“It provides the students one last opportunity to be with their classmates, many of whom they've been with since kindergarten, before they take off in all different directions,” Bloom-Vettesse said in an email.

What to Bring

• Kleenex
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen
• Cameras – don’t forget to charge them!
• Flowers
• Blankets and/or lawn chairs if you plan to use the grass seating