Graduation Ceremony Information

Dear Graduates and Parents,

We are excited for you as you finish this chapter in your lives and begin new adventures beyond high school. Congratulations on your accomplishments from everyone at NCHE!

We want the NCHE Graduation Ceremony to be a memorable event for all of you. Please read through all the information and instructions included below. Please address any questions you have about the ceremony to Briggs Greenwood, graduation ceremony coordinator, at briggs.greenwood@nche.com.

TIME AND PLACE:

We will have two ceremonies at the same time. We do this to ensure that we will be able to accommodate all the families who wish to participate as well as their guests. This also allows us to keep the ceremony to roughly 75 minutes in length. Both graduation ceremonies will begin at 5:00 pm, Saturday, May 29, 2027, at the Benton Convention Center, 301 W. 5th Street, Winston-Salem. Decisions about the ceremony room that your graduate will be in will be determined in early spring, and you will receive an email in that regard. If your graduate would like to be in the same ceremony as another graduate, please send any requests to me by April 1 at briggs.greenwood@nche.com.

GRADUATES AND PARENTS:

All graduates and all parents from both ceremonies must attend an instruction meeting at 2:50 p.m. that Saturday. The meeting will begin promptly at 3:00 p.m., and all graduates must be dressed for the ceremony including cap and gown. Salem 2 Ballroom is on the main floor of the convention center. It will be clearly marked. Only graduates, parents, and young siblings will be allowed in at that time. Parents will have reserved seating—two per graduate. If you have a special situation (stepparents to be included or two sibling graduates, for example) which may modify the parent seating, contact me as soon as possible. Graduates will also have assigned seats separate from the parent section. If it is necessary for a young sibling to attend the meeting, there will not be a seat for them in the parent section, but they can sit quietly in the back of the room. This 3:00 p.m. meeting is essential for participation. Please give yourself at least one half hour to park and make your way to Salem 2 Ballroom. Parking is located directly across the street from the BCC and is connected by a pedestrian bridge. Dad and Mom, you will participate in the actual graduation ceremony. You will go on stage with your graduate and present the diploma when their name is called. You will not be speaking. We will practice this at the instruction meeting.

GRADUATE ATTIRE:

Graduates need to be in cap and gown at the 3:00 p.m. meeting. You will need to steam the gown ahead of time. (I do not recommend a hot iron in contact with the gown.) There will be no provision for this at the conference. Official NCHE (and any other prior approved) honor cords may be worn. The requirements for an NCHE honor cord are listed on our website. If your student would like to wear an honor cord other than NCHE’s, you may send an email request to briggs.greenwood@nche.com with a photo and the type of honor cord explaining the criteria for earning the cord. We do request dress attire, but how that is defined is your family’s decision. Long pants are required for the guys. Only the NCHE cap and gown are allowed. Prior year’s caps and gowns are not permitted as each year’s dye lot for fabric may result in a slightly different shade of green. Noncompliance with the dress code will possibly initiate your removal from the ceremony. Your cap and gown are sent to you directly from Jostens and will arrive a few weeks before the ceremony. It is critical that you have your graduate try on the cap and gown shortly after you receive it so that any problems can be addressed in time. You may not decorate caps or gowns in any way. They must be worn in their original condition, or you will be required to purchase a replacement prior to the ceremony.

CAPS AND GOWNS ARRIVAL

Caps and Gowns will be ordered shortly after the regular price deadline. Those caps and gowns should arrive around the end of April. For those who register after the regular deadline, you can expect those in 6-8 weeks after you register.

DIPLOMA:

NCHE will have your diploma at the ceremony. One less thing for you to remember! You will be emailed a proof of the diploma a few weeks ahead of the ceremony. You will be asked to approve the details of diploma prior to printing. Any errors or edits may be made at this point at no charge. Later reprints will require a fee.

JUNIOR MARSHALS:

One of the most important roles in making sure our graduation ceremonies run smoothly are the junior marshals. We invite younger high school homeschoolers (younger siblings or friends) to apply. We will be accepting up to 8 per ceremony. The application and more details can be found on Graduate Central on the website. Any questions may be sent to me via the email below.

GUESTS:

You are welcome to invite guests to the ceremony. Siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends are welcome. You do not need tickets, and there is no admission fee. Any attendees other than graduates and parents will not be admitted before 4:45pm, no exceptions.

QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions between now and the ceremony, please feel free to email me at briggs.greenwood@nche.com or call the NCHE office at 919-790-1100. Thank you for allowing NCHE to take part in this important event in the life of your family!

Best wishes,
Briggs Greenwood
NCHE Graduation Ceremony Coordinator