WINONA, Minn. – Remember those Winona High School graduation ceremonies at Giel Field? They’re back. After Covid pandemic forced the 2020 class to have a drive-through ceremony, the 2021 affair will be June 12 with families and well-wishers in-person at Giel Field. As Schools spokesperson John Casper put it: “The 151st commencement ceremony will look a little more like the first 149 than it did the 150th.” However, there are Covid provisos:
> Family and friends will sit in the stands instead of the field.
> Families are asked to pod together and distance themselves from other families.
> Ticket holders will be assigned gates to enter to help with social distancing.
> Masks, although not required, are recommended for anyone who has not been vaccinated.
> Anyone with Covid symptoms must stay home.
> Hand sanitizer will be at entrances and exits.
> Everyone is to leave within 20 minutes after the ceremony.
The ceremony: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 11. In case of inclement weather, the makeup is 7:30 the next evening. Each of the roughly 200 grads, from the high school and the learning center, has received six tickets. A livestream is planned on HBC and the district website.