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EXETER &mdash; Jade Reid and her father Jamarra smiled broadly while getting their photo taken outside Wyoming Area Secondary Center, but dad admitted he wasn&rsquo;t exactly giddy.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so emotional that she&rsquo;s graduating!&rdquo;
				The family waited with others outside the school for Jade&rsquo;s turn to walk across the stage, move her graduation cap tassel from one side of the mortar board to another, and hold up a diploma case. The district has been scheduling such stage walks for all seniors this week, taking photos for parents and a video for a virtual graduation ceremony to be posted online next Friday.
				Like districts across the state, Wyoming Area has struggled to figure out how to handle commencement in a state and county where the COVID-19 pandemic has shut schools since mid-March and barred any large scale gatherings. Wyoming Area has scheduled an auto parade for seniors and their families next Friday, the official graduation, but has decided to make the video and post it the same day.
				After taking her turn walking across the decorated stage, Mary Katherine O&rsquo;Brien said it was nice that the district was making such an effort, adding: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been hard for all seniors.&rdquo;
				Sara Pettit also praised the opportunity, but conceded: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still sad because of the quarantine.&rdquo; Ryan Petrucci noted this was the first time he had seen some of his classmates in person since school closed.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to kind of see everyone,&rdquo; he said, agreeing the district effort was valuable at such an uncertain time.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a kind of guarantee things will be OK,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everything changes every day.&rdquo;
				Superintendent Janet Serino sat through it all, face mask on, applauding when each student took the diploma case.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s actually nicer than we can decorate in the stadium,&rdquo; she said.
				The district is still hoping to stage something close to a more traditional ceremony Aug. 1, she said, but there is no way of knowing what restrictions will be in place then. Thus the video.
				&ldquo;At least they&rsquo;ll have this.&rdquo;

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Wyoming Area video, parade designed to give seniors a meaningful farewell