LONG POND, Pa. — More than 50 Notre Dame High School Seniors will be the first to cross the finish line here at Pocono Raceway near Long Pond to celebrate graduation and the end of the school year.
The first of its kind ceremony is scheduled to take place at 11 in the morning.
Nicole Siciliano is the senior class president.
"It is so exciting. We were of course so nervous that nothing would be done and it really is awesome that we get to experience graduation even if it's not in the traditional sense. We are just excited to be acknowledged for our four years of hard work," said Nicole Siciliano, Notre Dame High School Senior Class President.
Notre Dame Junior-Senior High School Principal Jeffrey Lyons tells Newswatch 16, his senior class missed out on so much this year due to the COVID-19 crisis, and graduating virtually was not an option anyone was going to settle for.
"It took a while for everyone to get used to the idea. Notre Dame graduations are unique to Notre Dame, just like every school. There was a lot of disappointment which turned into frustration and as the pandemic became obvious and worse like everyone began to realize that there aren't that many options if we can do it live, let's do it," said Principal Jeffery Lyons, Notre Dame Junior-Senior High School.
Students, family, and friends will remain in their vehicles during each ceremony and members of the graduating class will cross the finish line when their names are called.
Kevin Heaney is the marketing director at Pocono Raceway.
He says there have been several walk-throughs to ensure everything runs smoothly.
"We are going to try and socially distance all these graduations and allow people to stay in their cars. They can be with their family members, they are driving by themselves it all depends on what they want to do. The goal is to have everyone remain in their vehicles. There will be a couple of speakers who will be outside, but they will be socially distanced as well," said Kevin Heaney, Pocono Raceway Marketing Director.
Pocono Raceway is scheduled to host several school graduations over the next few months.