April 29, 2022

Dear Parents of the Class of 2022,

Believe it or not, May 29, 2022 is almost here! This will be an exciting month for you and your family. We write today to inform you about the plans we’ve been making to celebrate you and your son and to ask for your support as we all work toward safely guiding your sons to the finish line.

We have entered the waning days of classes for seniors and the homestretch of their high school academic careers. We encourage seniors to stay focused through these last days of classes, AP exams and finals, reminding them that these grades will remain part of their permanent records and will be forwarded to colleges and universities. Please help us remind them not to sabotage all their efforts with a few weeks of poor performance.

We would also ask your help in reminding our seniors to make good choices in the weeks leading up to graduation. Certainly there is much to celebrate and we hope to provide you and your family with many opportunities to recognize the achievements of your son. However, this is also a time when students are vulnerable to making poor decisions about the use of alcohol and illegal drugs or engaging in pranks.

Our seniors are responsible for the rules of the student handbook all the way through graduation. Frankly, as we get closer to the final days of the school year, withholding graduation privileges – including senior prom, the graduation Mass and dinner, and the graduation ceremony at Stifel Theater – is one of the few ways we have to enforce the handbook. Losing these privileges would be a heartbreaking conclusion to your son’s SLUH career. Please encourage your son not to put us in a situation where we have to enforce such rules.

And finally, we ask for your support in ensuring that your son’s participation in the graduation ceremony be such that no embarrassment to him, his family, or his school results from inappropriate behavior or dress. 

At graduation practice at 10:45 a.m. on May 13, we will tell seniors that the school will react to any effort by an individual to make himself bigger than the event itself. This is an event for the entire class, not for any one individual. We also ask families to maintain an appropriate level of decorum during the ceremony as well.

Now, on to the good stuff!

Senior Prom

The Prom will be held at The Chase Park Plaza (212 N. Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) on Friday, May 13 from 7:15 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The doors will open at 6:45 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Seniors are to arrive at the Prom by 7:15 p.m. No one will be allowed to leave the Prom before 11:00 p.m. Dance policies concerning attire and behavior also obviously apply to your son's date.

Baccalaureate Mass and Dinner

The Baccalaureate Mass and Dinner for the seniors and their parents/guardians will be held at school on Saturday evening, May 28. Mass will begin at 5:00 p.m. in the Danis Field House; the dinner and program will follow in the Si Commons. Seniors should wear a coat and tie. While all members of your family are most welcome to the graduation ceremony, this Mass and Dinner are for the parents/guardians and seniors only. You may register for this event here. Please communicate any food allergies to Kathy Hylla at foodservice@sluh.org 

Each senior should pick up his gift bag from the Danis Lobby as he leaves Mass. It includes a T-shirt, which admits him to the Lock-In at the Des Peres Lodge. The Lock-In will be held from 10:00 p.m. on May 29 to 4:00 a.m. on May 30. For safety reasons, parents are expected to drop-off and pick-up their sons and are welcome to attend the 3:00 a.m. Mass which concludes the Lock-In. This is an alcohol/drug/vape-free event and all students are encouraged to attend. There are no additional costs for the Graduation Dinner or Lock-In.

Graduation

Graduation will be held at Stifel Theater on Sunday, May 29. Ceremonies will begin at 1:00 p.m. and will end by 2:45 p.m. Doors will open at approximately 12:15 p.m. Graduates must be in the Midland States Ballroom on the second floor of the Theater by 12:00 noon for attendance. They should enter through the northwest entrance on the corner of 15th and Market and follow signs to the ballroom. We strongly encourage all graduates, family and friends to arrive downtown as early as possible – we will be competing with traffic for the 1:15 p.m. Cardinals game at Busch Stadium nearby.

There is no limit to the number of people who may attend graduation at Stifel Theater. Seating is open (tickets are not needed for any seating area). Specifically, there are 1,400 available seats on the Orchestra level and an additional 1,000+ seats in the Lower Mezzanine. Wheelchair seating is available on both levels, and there is an ADA entrance near the corner of 15th Street and Market.

There is only one acceptable attire for the graduates: The tuxedo consisting of white jacket, black trousers and black cummerbund and bow tie. Additional necessities are black socks, black dress shoes, and a white shirt (not necessarily a tux shirt). 

Tuxes should be picked up either on Friday, May 27, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or Saturday, May 28, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m at the Stallone’s location your son indicated on his order form. The tux should be returned to Stallone’s no later than Tuesday, May 31. The cost of the tuxedo rental has already been paid in your graduation fee; however, if your son is renting a tux shirt ($10.00) and black shoes ($10.00) from Stallone’s, he must bring these additional rental fees when he picks up his tux.

Photography at Graduation

Westview Media will take videos of Senior Follies, Graduation, Baccalaureate Mass and Dinner. They will also be live streaming the Graduation ceremony. Please visit http://www.westviewmedia.com if you wish to purchase videos.

Trotter Photography will also photograph the graduates during the graduation ceremony.  

Finally, thank you for the gift of your sons. It has been a pleasure working with them and watching them grow over these years, and we look forward to hearing the stories from the varied roads they will travel. 

May God bless and protect you and your family in the days and weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

Fr. Ian GIbbons, SJ
Principal

Dr. Brock Kesterson
Asst. Principal for Student Life

Mr. Dan Becvar
Senior Class Moderator