Our Graduation Ceremony is tonight at 7pm. We are so excited to celebrate our Seniors with their families and our River Hill family.
We will see our Seniors at the reporting time of 6:00 pm at Merriweather!
Please take a moment to review the Graduation Presentation.
FAQ
Inclement Weather
We are hoping for a lovely evening, despite the forecast for showers and thunderstorms. The ceremony will be held rain or shine. Although open air, the seating at Merriweather is primarily under the canopy. Should there be significant and severe weather during our ceremony, we will follow Merriweather’s policy for inclement weather. Any changes will be communicated through School Messenger and on our website.
Photographs
Additional Graduation Information
GRADUATION ATTIRE
All graduation gowns are dark blue. Students who have earned academic honors (i.e. honor societies) may wear graduation stoles or cords. Graduates should wear solid colors since the robes are somewhat transparent and prints may show through the robe. Our seniors are asked not to wear sneakers, tennis shoes, flip-flops, deck shoes, or other similar types of casual footwear. Students will want to consider low-heeled shoes due to the distance they process and the steps they navigate.
Suggested Attire:
Solid colors
Collared dress shirts w/ties
Dress, skirt, or Dress Pants
Low-heel shoes, Hard-soled shoes
No Jeans
Diplomas are not awarded on stage. Diplomas/certificates and final report cards will be distributed immediately following the ceremony. Students who do not pick up these items will have the opportunity to collect them from Mrs. St. George the next school day in the Guidance Office.
SPECIAL ACCESS
Special access for handicapped guests is available at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Wheelchairs are NOT provided by RHHS or Merriweather Post Pavilion. Handicapped parking is available at Merriweather and is on first-come, first-served basis.
HEALTH & SAFETY
At this time, Merriweather Post Pavilion is not requiring the use of face masks, nor is it requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or testing. Students, staff and guests in attendance are welcome to wear masks if they would like.
ACCESSIBILITY
For each graduation, HCPSS will feature an online video stream and a live textual transcript. Requests for sign language interpreters should be made at least two weeks prior to a graduation. Request forms are available at each school.
PARKING
Parking Map for 7 p.m. Ceremonies
Students and guests are strongly encouraged to ride together and must park in the assigned lots when arriving at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Uniformed parking attendants will facilitate parking for all HCPSS commencement ceremonies and will redirect guests if/when lots are full. Please follow the signs and direction of the parking attendants to make the event run as smoothly as possible.
In addition, please note:
Parking lots will open one hour prior to each ceremony’s start time. Guests who arrive earlier will not be allowed to park until the lots open.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, please make every effort to vacate the parking lot as quickly as possible so that parking is available for the graduation ceremony.
Merriweather Lot 1, located just inside the Little Patuxent Parkway at Merriweather Dr., is designated as ADA parking. Please refer to either map. Entrants must have a disability placard and/or license plate. Parking staff also may direct vehicles to other marked ADA spaces if they are available.
Guests with disabilities also may be dropped off and picked up in the identified area near the accessible seating (please refer to maps).
PHOTOGRAPHY
Commencement ceremonies are public events and, as such, may be photographed or videotaped. HCPSS photographers,
HCPSS will take photos of students in the audience and speakers on stage during each ceremony. Those photos will be available for viewing and/or download on the HCPSS Flickr site no later than June 17. Lifetouch will provide photographs of individual students receiving their diplomas. Complimentary proofs are mailed to each graduate, with no obligation to purchase, or may be accessed online.
It is imperative that media and other photographers/videographers do not interfere with the official documenting of commencement events and observe the following guidelines:
Representatives of news outlets should wear their media ID badges in a plain sight. Upon arrival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on the day of the event, check in backstage with Ms. Anne Roy, the school system administrator who oversees commencements.
Follow Ms. Roy’s directions regarding where you will be permitted to stand in order to avoid interfering with the commencement activities.
No photos or video are to be shot from the stage unless special permission is obtained in advance through the Office of Communications (410-313-6682) and/or Ms. Roy. Special permission will not be granted on the day of the commencement.
Failure to follow these guidelines may result in removal from the premises.
HOW TO WATCH GRADUATIONS
HCPSS will stream each graduation online. Viewers will access the online graduations at the school's scheduled date/time by going to www.hcpss.org up to 10 minutes prior to each event. Archived videos will be available soon after each graduation's end by selecting the applicable school from the boxes above on this page.
HCPSS also will rebroadcast the graduations on Howard County cable channels 42 (Verizon) and 95 (Comcast) on the schedule below. Please note, rebroadcast schedules are subject to change. Any updates will be posted on this page.
Rebroadcast Schedule
River Hill High School
Friday, June 10, 9:00 a.m.
Thursday, June 16, 3:00 p.m.