THE PROMISE OF IOWA
by C. Lynn
At Sibley-Ocheyedan High School, some seniors have the opportunity to graduate in December, 2019 instead of May, 2020. This year there are currently six seniors that are planning on graduating in December. Seniors that choose to graduate in December typically have a reason why they are graduating early; usually seniors use the time to work and save money before college, while others choose to use the time to get a head start on college.
Many wonder what the steps to graduating early are. The requirements to graduate early is that a student must have all of the necessary credits by the end of the first semester of his or her senior year. Candidates must also make sure that they have completed all of the required community service hours and that they have completed CPR/ First Aid training. The latter of these requirements must be completed on their own since the school only offers the training at the end of the school year. If a student is planning on or interested in graduating early in their senior year, they will want to talk to the school counselor to see if they are currently eligible or on the right track to early graduation.
If planning on or interested in graduating early, here are some tips that will help an individual achieve his or her goal. The first thing to do is make sure you are eligible for early graduation by checking with the school counselor, and if you will be able to get all your required classes and credits to graduate. Next, make sure all 60 community service hours have been completed. If a student was not at Sibley-Ocheyedan all 4 years of high school, they do not need to complete 60 hours of community service. A talk with the school counselor will tell you how many hours of community service you need to complete.
The six seniors that are planning on graduating early at Sibley-Ocheyedan are Keyshawn Carey, Yesica Castillo, Jennifer Cuadros, Savanna Hanson, Clint Henrichs and Colton Lynn. Some students use the extra time to work and save money while others choose to use their time by getting a headstart on college by starting their first semester of college. One of the early graduates was asked about what he was planning on doing after the first semester is over. That senior is Keyshawn Carey. Keyshawn stated that he is planning on using his time by working to save some money up for college books etc.