Graduation

 

THEO Graduation Overview

It’s time to organize THEO Graduation 2024?  First step was our annual  information meeting via zoom on January 31.  FYI: If you are in need of a graduation 2023 group, consider the graduation ceremony offered through THSC.org.

If you are a current THEO parent with an 11th grade student taking THEO classes during the 2022-23 school year and would like to learn more about THEO Graduation 2024, please rsvp at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F49A8AF2EA5FC1-graduation2 for the THEO Graduation MANDATORY meeting via ZOOM on April 10.

If you are interested in THEO Graduation 2024, please read this web page and the THEO Graduation Handbook thoroughly.  Keep a sharp eye. .  The mandatory Graduation 2024 meeting will be on April 10, 2023.

THEO  provides a Christian community for home educating parents to “drive” the education of their high school students with support from gifted teachers.  As part of this support, we provide a structured ceremony in which parents and students celebrate their academic successes as a group every May.

In order to participate in the THEO family’s graduation, your student must

  1. Take part in THEO during student’s junior and senior years.
  2. Take at least one yearlong class or two semester long classes during the fall and spring during the student’s senior year at THEO.
  3. No more than three discipline records in our THEO Jupiter Grades system.  Priority will be given to those students without any discipline records.
  4. At least one family member must help serve on one of the graduation volunteer roles.
  5. Priority will be given to those families who have participated in THEO classes for the longest time.
  6. Graduates must participate in every group picture with a smile on their face.
  7. Both parents must attend DRESS rehearsal with student the week of graduation and arrive promptly so as not to keep over 150 other parents/students waiting.  Both parents and graduate are to be dressed as if for graduation at this mandatory rehearsal.
  8. Each graduate is required to have a display table, normally 2.5′ x 3′, on which they will display memorabilia of their education and childhood.
  9. Music shall not be played from these memorabilia tables out of politeness to fellow graduates and their guests.  No balloons or candy can be a part of the student’s display.
  10. Clean up and remove all of your memory table material within the requested time frame.

The commitment to join THEO Graduation is significant.  If your family meets the qualifications above, please download and read

the THEO Graduation Handbook.

After thoroughly reading the handbook, if you would like to apply to join THEO graduation for the upcoming school year,  please complete BOTH the

Graduation Application

Parent Commitment Form

Commitment Deadline

Beginning in February each school year, THEO Graduation Applications and Parent Commitment Forms will be accepted until  the group is full or until May 1.  Regardless of the headcount, applications will not be accepted after May of the student’s JUNIOR year.  For THEO’s 2022 Graduation, the group was full as of May 1, 2021.  Therefore, any family who applied after that time was not able to join the group.

Current THEO families are STRONGLY encouraged to attend and to apply at the first Informational Meeting in February  during their student’s junior year. Important votes about speakers, retreat, Bible verse, and the stole color occur at the MANDATORY April Fellowship/Meeting, also known as our Commitment/Kick-off Meeting.

The Graduation Ceremony and Service Commitment

Outlined in the handbook

Costs

The graduation fees are paid to an account established for the sole purpose of graduation (THEO Seniors), and no one, including the THEO Graduation Director, is paid for their work on graduation.  ‘

Until the venue is set for 2024, the costs are not firm because venue prices can vary by significant amounts.

The fee to THEO Seniors for graduation is currently set at $300 although the total cost of a graduation  varies because

  1. Every family orders their own graduation announcements
  2. Every family arranges for their own senior pictures.
  3. Cost also depends on whether your senior attends the senior retreat, or perhaps your family chooses a family senior trip.
  4. Monthly graduation group activities often cost  for a meal or activity although some group organized activities are purposely no cost.

Retreat costs approximately $25 if your child chooses to attend the retreat (plus transportation costs.)  The retreat will be held in September or October with the payment due date set soon.  Although strongly encouraged, the retreat is not mandatory.

The (approximate) $275 senior graduation fee to THEO covers: building rental, senior t-shirt, speaker fees, master of ceremony fees, programs, sound crew, cleaning crew, decorations, plates, napkins, two graduation photographers plus a videographer,  thumb drive keepsake of graduation photographs, cake, punch, coffee decorations, and tablecloths, and is paid $50 at application time (nonrefundable if your graduation application is accepted and a seat is given to your senior) with the final amount due by September 1 of each year.

Please note the fees are non-refundable after joining the senior group.

CHANGES from previous years:

  1. Senior trip options are not a part of  THEO graduation committee responsibilities.
  2. Beginning in 2017, due to the larger number of seniors, THEO  no longer sets aside a quarter of a page for each senior in the THEO yearbook. Senior pages in the yearbook are one portrait only and will include all seniors who attend THEO. (All yearbook class portraits are taken by Miriam Carter for uniformity.  Therefore be sure to attend her August photo shoots at THEO.) Families will have the option to purchase a senior ad in the yearbook for an additional fee.
  3. Ten pictures for the graduation slide show are due before September 1 if you participate in THEO’s graduation – instead of the former January 31st deadline.  Why so early?  These extra months will allow the multi-media coordinator  time to prepare the slideshow without waiting on late submissions in February.  Your student’s ONE senior picture can be swapped out until January 31.  Many of you will have professional photos taken during the fall, but please submit a “senior placecard picture” which can be swapped out with the official professional picture before January 31.  Missing the September 1 deadline will jeopardize your ability to participate in graduation.

Because God created a wide variety of people who have a wide variety of tastes, home educated students and their parents frequently do not want a traditional cap and gown formal graduation ceremony to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments.

Celebrations  are a blessing whether a private graduation party, a formal cap and gown ceremony or a family celebration!  A large percentage of our THEO students do not participate in the THEO Family Graduation each year.

Please do not join our THEO Graduation unless you are committed to helping create a tasteful, respectful, cap and gown celebration.  This event is for those families who want to finish well with a traditional ceremony for their student and guests and has been limited to approximately 45-55 graduates in the past due to time constraints.  We considered ways to expand the size of the group for future years, but it meant a change to the standard format THEO graduation has included in past years.  Therefore after years of consideration, we have capped the graduation groups permanently at 55.

By signing the parent commitment form, parents communicate that they have counted the cost before joining, rather than taking a spot from another who may want to participate in this wonderful, yet more traditional, event. Also, as much as we try to keep this information updated, mistakes happen. Any current written information that is sent to you supersedes anything you read on this page.