Brunswick High School graduates cheer from their cars at the end of the ceremony in 2020. Hannah LaClaire / The Times Record

After hosting a special drive-in graduation at Brunswick Landing last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Brunswick High School will return to the traditional venue of Bowdoin College’s Watson Arena this year for graduation.

The ceremony will start  at 7 p.m. and the doors to the arena will open at 6 p.m. Each graduate is being provided with 10 guest tickets, a new restriction at the venue in light of the pandemic. The school is asking that groups maintain 6 feet of social distancing at the entry and pods of four remain seated together.

In a letter to the community, Brunswick High School Graduation Committee asked families to refrain from mingling with others in order to comply with CDC guidelines.

“Graduation is a special time for everyone,” wrote the committee. “We ask everyone to respect the rights of others as we are all equally excited for these graduating seniors.”

Brunswick High School Senior Luke Cheseldine, who is the class of 2021 valedictorian, varsity soccer captain and member of the science team, said that he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Brunswick High School but would have liked to have a more traditional ending to senior year.

“It’s definitely gotten better towards the end of the year as we have gone back to more in person,” Cheseldine said. “But, you know, still not quite the same. No prom, no dances, things like that that you’d expect from a senior year.”

In the fall, Cheseldine will be attending the University of Toronto to study computer science, which he said he is very much looking forward to.

“I think (remote learning) showed us that if we really want to maintain our connections with our friends, we have to kind of take the initiative,” Cheseldine said. “I personally have learned that if you want to stay motivated and stay connected to people and stay doing the things you love you kind of just have to take it into your own hands and do it.”

When first reopening in September, Brunswick High School operated under a hybrid-learning model. In late April, the district increased from two to four days-a-week in-person learning. 

Ultimately, Cheseldine said that he thinks the class of 2021 will be remembered for their strength and being a class of acceptance.

“I think we have one of the strongest classes I’ve ever seen at Brunswick,” Cheseldine added. “It’s a very accepting student body and I think we all just genuinely like being around each other for the most part, and I don’t think you get that with every single class.”

There are 165 total students in Brunswick High Schools graduating class of 2021.