Planning for a 5th Grade Graduation/Celebration

Whoo hoo, it's a new month which is exciting for most of us in the education world this time of year since it's literally crunch time since the school year is coming to a close.  One event that we play a role in is "graduation" on any school level (5th, 8th & of course 12th).  I previously did a post about planning for a 5th grade graduation a couple of years ago and wanted to revisit and add some more tips. Here goes:

-Recruit help from others (this is a biggie) you certainly don't want to wind up doing all the work.  At my school there's a committee of parents that organize and plan the event (I'm also on the committee).

-Line the hallways with butcher paper and let the students "leave their mark" as they leave and begin a new chapter in their school careers.  This idea came from a local university where there's a "free expression tunnel" and students can express themselves freely (we do monitor to make sure that appropriate things are being written).

"free expression" hallway

-There's always a class t-shirt, but the last couple of years the shirts have been ordered early so that they can be worn during the school year, rather than the last day of school.

-Borrow plants to decorate the stage (recruit help from parents).  There's usually a creative parent(s) who would love to take on a task like this. 

Plant display for the stage

-Make a playlist of songs to play for the celebration.  Use your iPod to connect to external speakers, instant party!

iPod easily plugs into sound system

-Make a slideshow of the "graduates".  Have students bring in a baby picture and use a current picture for the slideshow.  I collect and scan the baby photos and use the fall pictures from the picture company.  It's also a good idea to ask for pictures throughout the years from class events, field trips, etc, to include in the slideshow.  A group of parents work on creating the slideshow and getting the slideshow burned to DVD's for all the students to have.

-Make ribbons in your school colors for all of the graduates to make.  Again, some crafty parents have been willing to make them.

What other tips or suggestions do you have for planning an end of year celebration/graduation?

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