Does your HS organize an all-nite party for night of graduation?
Will your graduate be attending? Why or why not?
No high school-organized grad night party, but the parents throw parties for a few weeks.
I assume they don’t throw parties for all the graduates, just a select list?
D graduated on Thursday night and her high school had an organized grad night party, as it does every year. It’s a drug and alcohol free all night (or most of the night) party.This year it was held at a go-kart racing venue. Cost was $100-$150 depending on whether you paid early or late. They bused the kids there from graduation. There was tons of food from multiple sponsors like Chipotle, Panda Express, Chick Fil-A, CPK, local Italian and Mexican restaurants, plus casino and carnival games and lots of prizes given away throughout the night (ranging from gift cards up to an iPad and a bike). It ended around 3:30 am and then the kids were bused back to the high school parking lot to be picked up. (It used to be all night but now ends a little earlier.) Plenty of people throw grad parties the following nights (Memorial Day weekend) but there is high participation at the organized party on grad night because it has a good reputation for being fun. Parent volunteers help out and you are encouraged to volunteer while your kid is a freshman-junior in recognition of the fact that the seniors would prefer not to see their own parents there!
^^Many moons ago, baby kiddo’s HS put on a similar grad party with a twist - the kids were not told in advance where the party would take place so no one would try to hide some alcohol or drugs at the venue the day before the party.
Both of my kids’ schools did. One was a lockin type thing. The other was a surprise; they boarded buses straight from graduation. I know at least a couple of years (not in a row), part of the night was spent on a Puget sound cruise and part at a casino in a private party area - no gambling, no alcohol. The kids couldn’t take bags on the bus, only a wallet.
Our school has an all night substance free party after graduation, as do just about all the other schools in this area. Lots of fundraising pays for these events, as well as donations of goods and services. There was no charge to the students.
Same drill as above. The location was at one of several places the school used. No knowledge of the whereabouts until the night of the event. In addition, the buses left directly from the graduation venue…and no one was allowed to carry anything with them but their wallets.
Both of my kids went…and both had a terrific time. In addition to really good food, and lots of entertainment and activities, they also had door prizes that were awarded all night long. Everyone got one prize…some more expensive than other things. One of my kids won a really nice larger dorm fridge. The other got a rather large gift card to the Gap.
Both really didn’t have a huge circle of friends at their HSs, but both said this party was really a lot of fun.
And it certainly was more fun than spending the night with their parents and grandparents.
Families had graduation parties for their graduates for smaller numbers of students,may well as friends.
I’m not a night owl, so my contribution for about 7 years was to help with the huge breakfast the night after the party. Gotta say…that was fun too.
The 2 high schools my kids went to both do the Disneyland all-nite grad party. My nearby high school did the same thing 40 years ago. I wish they would come up with something else. It’s expensive and so crowded that it’s hard to go on any rides. The kids just end up walking around all night. They usually go the night before graduation so at graduation they are all slumped over and falling asleep.
They have all night grad party at the high school. I think they were not allowed to leave until the morning.
I believe some of these common elements (no booze, having the location a secret and not allowing students to come and go) directly result from the high number of alcohol-related casualties among new graduates.
The parties started as an effort to combat alcohol-fueled graduation parties and the resultant early mortality.
Our school has a night similar to many described here. They board buses at the school around 9pm to a mystery location and return about 5am. The event has many attractions such as air hockey, bungee jumping, flight simulator, crazy hair stylist, dj, video games, obstacle course, foosball, casino games and lots of food. They also have lots of raffle prizes, everything from movie tickets to a new computer. Some of the mystery locations in the past have been Angel Stadium, Santa Anita Race Track and the OC Fairgrounds. Yes, my graduate will be attending because it’s a fun night and a great way to celebrate one last time with his classmates.
Our HS doesn’t do that – different parents throw parties. But I do like the idea and would have let my kids attend such an event (as long as it was chaperoned by the school etc.)
I always thought that was the exact reason that schools had grad night parties, no? Not some secret reason to be speculated about, but the actual, blatant reason.
Grad night parties would probably be much, much different (if school-sponsored ones existed at all), if that wasn’t the reason.
@baktrax, yes that is the stated reason. Both the parents and grads sign a detailed pledge to be drug and alcohol free and the event is heavily chaperoned. Our is called Project Grad and there is a wikipedia article about the history of Project Graduation which says it started in Maine in the1980’s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Graduation
Yes, the point of these chaperoned events is to provide a safe, alcohol free and drug free environment where the kids can have fun with their classmates. Our committee spends all year raising funds to provide an incredible night for the graduates (yes, there is a still a fee, but we subsidize the cost with fundraising and donations).
Like @ClaremontMom ours is the result of a year long effort (fundraising and a huge volunteer team). It is supported by donations and sponsors (especially local restaurants that donate food). Although the PTO charges a fee, they make it clear they don’t want anyone to miss out because they can’t afford it and people are invited to request assistance if they can’t pay the whole fee.
D and S attended different schools. D’s class was taken by bus and went to four locations throughout the night. They went to a restaurant, a club where they played games and had a hypnotist, a bowling alley, and then to a comedy club. Then they took them back to school for breakfast and a class video. I believe we paid $200 for this several years ago. I also ‘sponsored’ another student, as we were asked to do so. S had his party at a bowling alley/fun zone. They bowled, played laser tag, played in an arcade, and ate lots of food. I think his was $100. I volunteered for both, but tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. I think this is a great idea - keeps them safe and includes all the kids.
Like @Corinthian, we have “scholarships” to help those who cannot afford the night. (We also give incentives to buy tickets early for a cheaper price!)
Oh yeah! I was on the committee for both kids. We raised almost $100,000 both times. We had scholarships for a few, but the ticket price was only $35 and that included goody bags with $25 gift cards. We had games, inflatable, casino and a hypnotist. Thank God I’m done! It was a lot of work, but it was worth it!
My kids attended different HS’s but both held grad night parties. My kids went and had a great time. I addition to being drug/alcohol free I think it’s nice that the entire class is together one last time. My kids each had a group of close friends but also many other friends so this was a nice way to celebrate with everyone.