Veranda - Hats Off to Graduating Seniors!

Springs sports were canceled. Prom was canceled. Senior traditions — canceled. Even graduation is going to look a little different this year.

But what isn’t changing is how proud we are of our seniors, what they’ve accomplished and the grand adventure of life that awaits.

Here in Veranda, we couldn’t be more proud of our graduates. We’re having some fun with our congratulations by making a TikTok video to honor them.

For those brainstorming other innovative ways to applaud your graduate while still maintaining social distancing, we have a few ideas:

Make a Zoom Celebration

Invite friends and family to a party via Zoom. Send out a menu so everyone can enjoy the same snack foods. You might even want to invite a favorite celebrity — the likes of Jon Bon Jovi, Matthew McConaughey, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have been known to make impromptu appearances on various Zoom calls.

Show Your School Pride

Wear your school colors and decorate your home in school colors and mascot images. One creative dad of an Ohio State University graduate even spray painted the school’s red block “O” in their backyard.

Take Photos — Lots of Photos

Fort Bend ISD will have a professional photographer at each graduation to take a photo of each graduating senior, but families are encouraged to head home after their seniors walk the stage. Make sure to take photos of your senior in their cap and gown with family members before or after graduation. Schedule a professional photographer to take front yard photos of college seniors who don’t have a physical graduation to preserve the memory of their accomplishment.

Adopt a Senior

Make the day of a graduating senior by leaving a college prep care package, favorite treats or other surprises on their doorstep as a sign of support.

Sign It Up

Decorate the front door or get some Texas-sized yard signs to applaud your graduate and let the world know how proud you are of them. Embarrassing? Maybe a little, but isn’t that what parents are for?

Capture the Memories

A good idea for any year — pandemic or no — is to create a memory book of your student’s educational journey. Get out the paper and glue to make it yourself or gather photos and use an online service like Shutterfly and MixBooks to create the memento. Still have old T-shirts around? Turn them into a quilt of memories.

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