Will there be Cords? What about the Valedictorian speech? What are the Stoles? These are just a few of the many questions regarding this year’s graduation ceremony. With no official documentation coming  from Severna Park High School, many students and parents are confused concerning Board of Education changes involving the various acknowledgements given to students for grades, honors, and clubs. As a result, rumors have spread quickly.

So what about cords? According to Mrs. Hannah’s, head of the National Honors Society,  “Yes, there will be cords. NHS will be the same as always (navy and gold). All Honors societies that give out cords will continue to do so.”  Principal Bathras also commented on the subject “The Board of Education determines cords and stoles for all High Schools. All of the cords being awarded at graduation are: Academic Honor Societies (ie. Art, ASL, Dance, English, Math, Music, National Technical Honor Society, Science, Social Studies, Thespian, TRI-M Music, WCL etc.), CTE Completers, JROTC, NHS, Signature (pathway only), AVID, PLTW.”

While many believe that cords have been taken away completely, this is not the case. The only change to cords for this 2018 year is the GPA cord. What was once a cord to recognize a certain GPA, has now been changed to a special stole given based on the Latin Honors system. “There are now stoles to designate graduates with honors,” commented Hannahs. In the Latin Honors system, students will be given either a gold, silver or bronze stole depending on their GPA. Summa Cum Laude is a weighted GPA of 4.3 or higher (gold stole) , Magna Cum Laude is a weighted GPA of 4 to 4.29 (silver stole) and a Cum Laude is an unweighted GPA of 3.4 to 4 (bronze stole).  

In addition to the confusion regarding cords, many have also wondered who will make speeches at this year’s ceremony. In the past, both the Valedictorian and Salutatorian have made speeches. This year, it will be the Senior Class President and a school-selected speaker. Bathras commented, “The Board of Education determined that there would be no Valedictorian and Salutatorian speeches any longer, rather it will be the Senior Class President bringing greetings and opening remarks (as in the past at SPHS), and one student who will be selected from those Summa Cum Laude students who are interested in applying to speak.” More information will be provided in early March concerning the speaker selection process. During the ceremony, the Valedictorian and Salutatorian will both sit on stage and receive different awards to recognize their achievements during their years at Severna Park.