Our Graduate

Graduation Day!

In America, high school graduation represents the culmination of 13 years of education, along with entry into adulthood, as most graduates have turned 18, or are turning 18 soon.

There's the cap and gown and speeches and well wishes and bouquets and Pomp and Circumstance playing (over and over) as the students walk into the event and find their seats. 

There's a stadium full of people, the National Anthem, a long list of names and the traditional moving of the cap tassel from the right side to the left, as the ceremony ends. 

It's a milestone, and I'm so grateful Cora took part in this monumental senior year event. 

She got to walk in and sit next to her friend Carys, which was special. Carys's mom serves as an unofficial school photographer, so she was on the ground getting some amazing photos.

We were in the stands, cheering and yelling for Cora when we could finally spot her in the line coming in. Grandpa brought his good equipment, and got the below photo when she looked up and caught our eyes.

Here is Cora, getting her diploma and shaking hands with Dr. Cherise Moore, a school district board member.

And here she is, high-fiving Mr. Fisher, the school's amazing principal. I wish I'd gotten a photo of them together after the ceremony - I really enjoyed working with him these past two years.

Melanie took this sweet pic of me and Stace.

The ceremony was great - with several speeches and all the graduates' names, it was still finished in an hour! 

I watched the online ceremony for Cora's old school, since I know so many families there, and it was an hour and 40 minutes - glad ours was more succinct.

Favorite teacher, no contest.

Cora and Rowan, and Lucas, who has one more year of high school.

Graduation Photo Shoot

We'd been talking to Melanie about taking new headshots of Cora, and when we got her graduation gown, I asked if we could combine a graduation photo shoot in with the headshots.

It worked out for Mel to come up on Friday, the day of graduation, so Cora could kill two birds with one stone - get dolled up for a photo shoot, and for graduation.

She even got her hair done in the early afternoon!

We took the graduation shots in a pretty natural area in the neighborhood behind our house, where thankfully it was shady, since it was unfortunately HOT.

And beforehand, we went to the newer shopping center in Old Newhall, where there was a surprising variety of colored walls, perfect for headshots.

I wanted a few shots of Cora in a tree, since she's always loved climbing them. 

Graduates are invited to decorate the tops of their caps, and Violet took on the job for Cora. This is a funny phrase from the Simpsons, and Vi dreamed up red theater curtains and a dark stage backdrop.

Later, we realized the colors don't go with Cora's school colors, but rather the school colors from the high school she left two years ago. Oops!

So pretty!

Tidbits

 Cora is done with school, and has a weird off week before her graduation. On Tuesday morning, she went to school for a senior meeting, where they picked up their caps and gowns - she was given a gold gown, signifying her place as an honors scholar for her grades. I'm so proud! Other graduates from her school will be wearing blue.

At dinner, we gave her a little pre-graduation gift - I'd found this theatre mask pin at an upscale thrift store and it's perfect on her Master Thespian stole.

With Cora having more free time this week, she picked Vi up from school Tuesday, and took her to youth group on Wednesday. In classic new driver fashion, though she pretty much knew where to go, and had Violet in the car, they took a circuitous route to get to the church. 

Later, when she picked her up, they took a different out of the way way to get home. Ha! Memories...

While at church, Violet, sketched out Gus and Shawn from Psych, the show the girls have been rewatching again.

Speaking of art, Violet was assigned to create a self-portrait in her art class, and painted this with acrylic. I love it! The hair part and light/shine, the eyes - wow.

Cora also has been painting, after getting her 3D printer going again. Since they're playing D&D more regularly, she's creating mini figures for their campaigns.

She is so skilled at painting, too, especially the fine details like these tiny teeth. 

This was funny - Stace had the idea of giving Cora a Percy Jackson Pop Funko as a little gift, so we ordered one on Amazon. But what arrived was a Pop Funk of Slash, from AC/DC. 

Memorial Day Weekend

 It was Memorial Day weekend, so Stace had Monday off. We all slept in after the theatre banquet, and on Saturday afternoon, Stace and I went to Rancho Camulos. I'd read about a special screening of a documentary on California history, combined with tours of this beautiful historic landmark. Stace hadn't been in years, so we headed over.

Our tour guide was one of the main docents, so she had all the knowledge of the 1850s rancho and the families who lived there.

While we were there, Cora went to Logan's house for D&D, and then Stace and I met her there so we could drive together to Mel and Nick's. They wanted Cora to babysit, and we wanted to ride with her while she got the freeway driving experience. 

We then left Cora at their place, and went to the sweet Americana shopping center for our own date night.

On Sunday, Violet went on another whale watching cruise with Grandma and Grandpa, and saw a huge pod of dolphins, along with whales. They've had great luck this year on their cruises!

Stace and I went to see a comedy play about Jeeves and Wooster.

On Monday, Ellie came over to hang out for a few hours, and we played some board games. She got sleepy in the afternoon so I set her up with Violet's sheepskin and the couch blanket. 

Later, Stace took a break from yardwork to teach Ellie about cricket. We had a great time playing with her.

Also, Violet mowed the lawns and Cora washed the Vibe.

We finished the weekend with patty melts, made on the new Blackstone grill. A good weekend!

Theatre Banquet

 Cora ended her high school theatre experience with a lovely banquet on Friday. Given the importance of theatre in her life, this was really a more momentous event than graduation itself, which comes next week. 

I helped with setup, and we all later helped with cleanup. We had yummy Stone Fire for dinner in a dressed-up cafeteria, and then the awards ceremony in the auditorium.

For the first time, Violet came to the banquet, given it was Cora's senior year and a special event for the family. She hung out with Cora and her friends the whole night and had a great time. 

It's too bad they couldn't have gone to the same school this past year. (Well, they could have, but Vi chose the other school because her friends were going there...I digress...)

The whole group (I think!) pre-awards ceremony

All the seniors were given lighthearted recognition by their peers. Mackenzie gave Cora hers, an award for being not just good, but good enough. Cora used the same phrase as her yearbook senior quote.

We also watched a sweet tribute video for the seniors, with lots of behind the scenes footage from Percy Jackson.

Cora was awarded honor cords and the master thespian stole for graduation, for accruing the most points in their International Thespian Society troupe, with 325. Each point represents 10 hours in theatre work, be that in class, rehearsal, set-building, outside theatre work, etc. Yes, that's a heck of a lot of hours. I've joked that Cora majored in theatre in high school, but it wasn't really a joke.

The graduating honored members of the International Thespians Society.

Cora gave out the Reliability award, which she had won last year.

Then, the big awards - Crew Person of the Year and Performer of the Year.

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Jarod said in his speech, "Every now and again a student walks through the door, and right away, they just have it. There's an instinct, an innate ability to understand all of it - what to say, how to say it, how to feel authentically," he said. "They know where to go without needing blocking; they create characters in such a real way, you ask, are they acting? We've enjoyed so many characters from this theatre artist. Looking back, there's already a career in place. ...

"This is the kind of student that when they graduate, you're not asking 'If,' but 'When?' For me personally, this is bittersweet because their four years has been my four years (as a classroom teacher). It's indeed going to be a challenge to see them go, but man, am I excited to see what happens when they do. 

"This person has worked on stage, behind the stage, in the booth, in the shop, and their question, "What can we do to make it better?" has echoed my own thoughts time and time again. Indeed a Master Thespian, this year's Performer of the Year is Cora."

Jarod didn't name off all of her roles - especially since half of them were directed by him at another school. But this girl has killed it as Jordan (Great Gatsby), Rosencrantz, Brooke Windam (Legally Blonde), Vera Claythorne (And Then There Were None), Megan (Puffs), Velma Kelly, Our Town's Stage Manager and Percy Jackson himself. 

And for competitions, she won awards for portraying MacBeth and Hamlet, and one of Henry VIII's wives in Six.

Watching Cora perform has been one of my highlights as a parent. I'm sad to see this stage come to an end ... but of course excited to see which stage she performs on next.

Jarod also gave some volunteer awards, and gave me a special recognition for four years of stepping up in whatever way needed. 

I was even given an honorary membership in their International Thespian Society Troupe.

Thanks to Grandpa for taking many of the photos here! 

Post awards photos!

Rowan, Lucas, Mackenzie and Cora - a great group of hard-working actors and young people.

Volunteer mamas!

Love these two with all my heart!