Class of 2023 Information
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Ceremony Date and Time:
The Deerfield High School Graduation Commencement takes place on Wednesday, May 24 at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.
The ceremony starts promptly at 5:00 pm.
The Ravinia property gates will open at 3:30 pm.
Our ceremonies have averaged 90 minutes in length. Families planning an event after the ceremony should plan to exit the property (after graduates are available after the recessional) around 7:00 pm.
Ticket Information:
Each graduate will automatically receive six tickets (four per student if twins) to the ceremony. They, themselves, will not need their own ticket. Graduates receive their tickets at the graduation rehearsal earlier that morning, and these will include any extra ticket that may have been provided via lottery from among those not being used.
Tickets allow for entry into the Ravinia property. All seating is general admission; tickets do not indicate a specific seat.
Additional Graduation Ticket Availability
Given a slightly smaller graduating class this year, we will have a limited number of extra tickets to make available to graduates/families. We will conduct a lottery from which single additional tickets will be awarded randomly to those who request them.
Please use this link to a simple form for requesting an additional graduation ticket. The lottery will be conducted on March 3, and those receiving an additional ticket will be notified at that time via the email they use when completing the form.
Link to Form for Requesting an Additional Ticket
Accessibility Accommodations
Handicapped Parking and seating are both available upon request. Requests can be made to Ms. Bettie Liberles, Principal’s Assistant, starting Monday, May 10. She may be reached at (224) 632-3010. She will make available specially printed placards and passes that include directions to the particular lot we use for parking and the box seat locations we use for seating. These placards may be easily picked up from her in the front office by students.
Know that the handicapped seating passes are used in conjunction with tickets. They are not in addition to them.
The ceremony will be live-streamed and accessible for anyone unable to travel or attend our ceremony. The specific link for access will be shared closer to the ceremony.
Graduate Information:
We hold a required graduation rehearsal on the morning of the ceremony itself. You should plan to arrive at Ravinia by 9:00 am on Wednesday, May 24. Plan on the rehearsal to last approximately two and a half hours. There, you will receive your cap and gown, learn where you will line up prior to the ceremony, how you will receive your diploma, and how to march back out at the conclusion of the event.
You will also receive your tickets at this time. We hand them to you when you practice receiving your diploma on stage and the Marshals practice reading aloud your names.
Graduates receiving honors (i.e., Valedictorian, Salutatorian, Deerfield Scholars) are also announced for the first time at our rehearsal.
For these reasons, it is important that all graduates planning to march at the ceremony attend the rehearsal that morning. Please contact Assistant Principal, Ken Williams, if you will not be able to attend.
Graduates should plan to arrive to Ravinia by 4:00 pm that afternoon. We will direct everyone to prepare for the processional (march in) for the ceremony at 4:45 pm. Again, we start the ceremony at 5:00 sharp.
The Ravinia pavilion is roofed and allows us to still hold our ceremony in inclement weather. We will have special lineup plans to keep you dry should the forecast look poor for that evening.
Our tradition is that you all line up, march, sit, and approach the stage for diplomas in the Homerooms you have held for the past four years. Your Homeroom teachers will sit with you, and the entire faculty will be present as well to share in this celebration. We’re all there to help you know exactly where to go and what to do. There’s nothing all that difficult, but, again, the rehearsal is where you will learn all of these parts.
We are so excited to return to Ravinia after two years and equally excited to celebrate the Class of 2023. Please contact either of us if you have any questions,
Sincerely,
Ken Williams, Assistant Principal
Dr. Lilly Brandt, Assistant Principal
