Graduation
THEO Graduation Rules and Guidelines
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, each May, we provide a structured ceremony in which parents and students celebrate their academic successes as a group. In order to participate in the THEO families’ graduation, your student must take at least one class their senior year at THEO and one parent must help serve one of the graduation committees. The family must also commit to attend all our graduation meetings, meet the financial deadlines, (see back panel for cost information), meet the picture, music and senior page deadlines and allow your student to participate in some portion of our senior year activities—such as monthly lunches, service projects, retreat, senior trip or social activities through out the year. To apply to join the THEO graduation group, complete the graduation application.
Commitment Deadline
Graduation Applications will be accepted until September 10th but families are encouraged to apply as early as March 1st of the student’s junior year. Organizational meetings start in July and important votes about speakers, retreats and the senior trip occur at the August Fellowship/Meeting.
The Graduation Ceremony
The ceremony will be held the second or third Friday or Saturday in May at a local Church. Rehearsal will be the evening before or Saturday morning of graduation. The ceremony will include a Master of Ceremonies, a speaker, the parents’ presentation of the diploma to their student, a recorded message for each graduate from their parents, and a reception after the ceremony to conclude the celebration.
Service Commitment
Each family must serve in some capacity for the graduation ceremony or for the seniors activities. Opportunities for service include:
Building committee, treasurer/secretary, reception committee, ordering caps and gowns, organizing the senior retreat, or a senior activity, compiling pictures into a PowerPoint presentation for the ceremony, recording parents’ messages to their graduates, preparing the program, and more.
The Trip Steering committee will report the details of the trip to the families by the August all family meeting for the parents to make an informed decision about their vote.
The Graduation Steering committee will choose a location that fits the budget by October 1st and report to the families by October 15th.
Money not spent on graduation expenses will be returned to the families by May 31st of each year.
Costs
The total cost of a graduation varies because each family orders their own announcements and senior pictures. Cost also depends on whether your senior attends the THEO senior trip or retreat.
Diplomas, diploma covers, caps, gowns, tassel, and stole cost $40/senior—due by September 10th.
Retreat costs vary from $10 to $125/senior (plus transportation) depending upon which retreat the families choose. A retreat can be as simple as a day out on land owned by one of our families to a weekend away at a cabin in East Texas or a weekend at Pine Cove. The retreat will be held in September or October with the payment due date set after the decision on which retreat the families prefer.
The $200/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, graduation photographer, DVD of graduation photographs, cake, punch, coffee and tablecloths and is paid in $50 payments: first $50 due no later than August 1 (with application), October 1, December 1 and February 1. Non-refundable.
OPTIONAL: Senior trip options cost approximately $1000/student depending on whether the seniors vote for a ski trip, a trip to NYC, Chicago or Washington D.C. Payment arrangements will be made outside of THEO and the payment deadline will depend upon trip dates.
Other Activities can be an additional expense. Although there will be free events such as a game night at THEO, the seniors will have at least one service project, monthly senior lunches at a local restaurant and other occasional events.
Each senior’s family is responsible for providing pictures in a digital format for the senior slide show and for decorating their senior’s memory table for the graduation reception.
At Graduation
Students will be asked to dress modestly in semi-formal attire—no flip flops or sneakers
No chewing gum for seniors during graduation.
Arrive on time.
Behavior should be respectful of our guests without rowdy rough housing or music with words that are rude or unacceptable to Christian conduct.
Clean up and remove all of your memory table material within the requested time frame.
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