In the midst of all of the closures and cancellations caused by the coronavirus emergency, the administration of Charles Page High School (CPHS) is looking at our calendar to see what events might be affected. Knowing that our families begin making plans for these events months in advance, we feel obligated to keep everyone informed with current information as it becomes available to us. At this point, we anticipate returning to school after Spring Break on March 23 as scheduled. However, public health officials anticipate the need to continue to cancel large scale events for the foreseeable future, perhaps for as long as 6-8 weeks. This timeline brings our two most important spring events, prom and graduation, into question.
PROM:
Our prom venue, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, has offered us an alternate date to consider, knowing that our original date of April 18 is likely to be affected by the coronavirus emergency. After careful consideration and consultation with our district administration and CPHS faculty, we made the decision to delay the prom for one month in the hope of saving it from cancellation.
The CPHS Prom 2020 is now scheduled for Saturday May 16 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
The new date allows us another month after our original date of April 18 for the emergency to subside. Had we stayed with the April date, there was a very high likelihood that prom would have been canceled altogether without another date being available. The May 16 date at least gives us a chance to have the prom. In many ways, it is the ideal date: the last Saturday before the end of the school year, giving us the maximum amount of time before everyone goes their separate ways for the summer.
Our primary focus is the health and safety of our students. We would not hold a large public event like the prom against the advice of government officials and medical professionals. It is important to note that there is still a chance that we will not be able to have the prom on May 16. The coronavirus emergency has a very uncertain future with no definitive end in sight. We hope that by making the change in dates now, reservations and deposits can be changed and transferred with as little disruption as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience. As events unfold, we will continue to update all of you and to adjust our plans as necessary.
GRADUATION:
The graduation ceremony for the CPHS Class of 2020 is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Saturday May 9 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center. There are no alternative dates for the Mabee Center since most area high schools use that facility for their graduation ceremony. ORU has not announced any change in its classes or on-campus events at this time. We will be in communication with ORU and will inform parents and students of any changes or cancelations.
We appreciate all of your continued understanding as we work through these difficult issues.
Sherry Durkee, Superintendent, Sand Springs Public Schools
Stan Trout, Principal, Charles Page High School