The information below provides schools, families and communities with guidelines for conducting safe graduation ceremonies in Saskatchewan.
- Whenever possible, virtual or live-streamed events are recommended instead of in-person events.
Other options an include:
Drive-In Ceremonies
- Drive-in graduations must ensure the following public health measures are enforced:
- Anyone who is sick or symptomatic must remain home.
- Must be held in designated parking lots or staging areas (with owner consent).
- Multiple ceremonies may be needed depending on the size of the graduating class.
- Vehicles must be separated by at least five metres.
- Individuals are required to remain inside or within arm's reach of their vehicles, and are not permitted to move to other vehicles (i.e. not go sit with friends).
- No objects may be passed between vehicles.
- Organizers must implement adequate measures to keep people from unnecessarily leaving their vehicles during the event.
- Vehicle occupants should be limited to members from the same household or extended household contacts.
- Where washroom access is provided, provisions are made to ensure the facilities are fully stocked for handwashing and there is frequent cleaning and disinfection throughout the event.
- Appropriate physical distancing is maintained at all times between people who need to leave the vehicle to access the washroom or other facilities.
- No food and beverage service is permitted.
- Individuals using other modes of transportation to attend the event (e.g. walking, biking, public transportation) should maintain two metres of physical distancing and join the vehicles with people from the same household or extended household contacts as soon as they arrive. If these individuals are not joining a vehicle, they are limited to no more than public gathering restrictions allow while observing all physical distancing protocols.
Outdoor Ceremonies
- Graduating classes are kept to maximum size of 30 graduates while maintaining two metres of physical distancing.
- Extended family members are limited to a maximum of five per graduate.
- Use of outdoor seating (e.g. bleachers) shall be restricted to every second row with two metres of physical distancing between non-extended family members and a maximum of 30 people per grouping.
- To ensure compliance with the outdoor public gathering restrictions – and where seating space allows – multiple groupings of 30 are permitted where spacing between groupings is a minimum of five metres and the total number of people observing the ceremony does not exceed 150 (graduates, school staff and visitors included).
- Use visual cues to support physical distancing.
- Implement one-way traffic flow to promote physical distancing (i.e. enter through one door and exit through another).
- Ceremonies must ensure:
- Anyone who is sick or symptomatic must remain home.
- Multiple ceremonies may be needed depending on the size of the graduating class.
- No objects may be passed between participants.
- Organizers must implement adequate measures to support physical distancing.
- Where washroom access is provided, provisions are made to ensure the facilities are fully stocked for handwashing and there is frequent cleaning and disinfection throughout the event.
- No food and beverage service is permitted.
As the province progresses through the phases of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, the approach to graduations may evolve.
If a graduation event is held, it must comply with the requirements in the public health order.
Further questions can be directed to local public health officials to ensure the event does not risk transmission of COVID-19.