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Graduation ceremonies to stream live on Web
Published Thursday, May 21, 2009
For years, the graduating classes of Suffolk’s public high schools have been coming to the School Board asking for a bigger venue for more people to be able to see their graduation.
This year, Suffolk Public Schools has obliged, taking the graduation ceremonies to the largest venue possible: the World Wide Web.
For the first time, the school system will have live streaming of the graduation ceremonies available on the Web site, http://www.spsk12.net/graduation.
“The students have often asked if can we move to a larger venue because of their extended families and not having enough tickets,” said Bethanne Bradshaw, public information officer for SPS. “Now, technology has gotten to the point where live streaming on the web is something we can do this year.”
Each year, graduating students are given six tickets to share with family members. Four of those tickets are for seats in the school gymnasium to see the graduation in person, and two tickets are for seats in the school auditorium where a live video feed is shown.
This year, that live video footage will be instantly uploaded to the Web site.
“This will be really cool,” Bradshaw said. “We’re really excited, because we have consistently had senior classes want a place for more people to see their graduation. This is a very inexpensive way for more people to see them walk across the stage.”
Bradshaw added that, given the school system’s increasing population of military families, this site will allow mothers, fathers and other family members who are deployed overseas to share in the graduation experience, as well. Additionally, any loved ones who live too far away to travel to Suffolk for the ceremony can log on to watch.
“They can see the graduation just like they were there,” Bradshaw said. “You can see it actually when it happens, and then right after the graduation, you can talk about it. It’s going to be really cool.”
As in previous years, the school system will film each of the graduation ceremonies, and the footage will be played on the school’s Charter Cable access channel, WSPS Channel 6. The system also will sell DVDs of that footage for $10 each.
Then, the school system will upload edited graduation footage to its video library on the system’s Web site, www.spsk12.net, for viewing following the graduation ceremonies.
“With the technology available, we’re able to put these graduations right on the Internet, which means they’re on demand and it also means we’re reaching millions more people than before,” Bradshaw said. “Anyone can see them if they have an Internet connection.”
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Comments
Posted by TJP (anonymous) on May 22, 2009 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"It's going to be really cool!" Please!!
Graduation is one of the most important events of a person's life. It's a special time for parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends to be a part of, for many people, the biggest accomplishment of an individual's life. This is especially true in the African-American community.
Viewing the ceremony on the computer (if you have one) or on cable tv (if you have cable) is just not the same as experiencing it in person.
It's time for the City of Suffolk to step up and provide access to all who choose to be a part of the graduation ceremonies. There will be costs associated with a larger venue, so let's budget for it, the way we do the VERY LARGE Screen TV's we have in the school's cafeterias.
Posted by catlady (anonymous) on May 22, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I know that some of the other school systems in the area use other facilities for graduation, but do they have an unlimited number of tickets for guests? Maybe I'm incorrect, but do not some systems have joint graduation ceremonies with all the high schools involved? If so, it would be hard to believe that the tickets are unlimited.
Posted by Truth (anonymous) on May 22, 2009 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This will be great for military families and for those elderly grandparents who cannot travel. BZ to SPS for providing this technology.
Posted by KNRMCO (anonymous) on May 24, 2009 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
and who would pay for a larger venue? i would suggest the families! charge an admission priec for each ticket...then everyone that wants to go can & those tht don't won't!
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