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Attached is a copy of the graduation ceremony expectations specifically related to the graduates' dress code. This was a collaborative effort between administration, staculty, and primarily the students - which included representatives from all four grades and from both the student council and principal advisory team. Our purpose was to "clean up" and create a more formal graduation ceremony to reflect the classy, Above-the-Line graduates of MCHS! In regard to cords/stoles, I personally challenged them to consider the concept of "edit to amplify". After a couple of meetings and reviewing survey data collected from student council members, the expectations outlined in the attached document were presented this past Wednesday to the student council, their sponsors, and principal advisory members and agreed upon by all of those in attendance.

It was truly a pleasure to work with our students on this task! To be honest, I wish many of our adult leaders and politicians could have witnessed how professional and considerate they were of each other. Did everyone agree throughout the process? Of course not. However, they remained civil in their discourse, were vulnerable and respectful in sharing their ideas, and were willing to see things from the perspective of others. Ultimately, they arrived at a set of expectations that achieved the primary goal of raising the bar for our graduation ceremony. Our value of "Power of the Herd" and behaviors such as "Think We, Not Me", "Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak", and "Respect Differences" were prevalent throughout this process, and I am so proud of everyone who was involved.

Our next step will be to look at the graduation ceremony order of events. Again, I look forward to continuing this work with our students, staculty, and administrative team that will produce a ceremony we can all be proud of, that will rightfully honor our 2023 graduates, and set traditions for Mustang graduates for years to come!

Who are we? Do the Work!