Flirting, Friends, Parties, Prom…and Rings??
Katye Gilliland
September 23, 2009
Filed under News
Homework, teachers, detentions, homerooms, friends, parties, proms, cafeteria food, i.d.’s, yearbooks, fast cars, good times, first jobs, loud music, cheap dates, nice girls, fast girls, mean girls, jocks, geeks and athletes; to many, these are the components of high school memories. What’s missing? School rings.
Receiving school rings is a defining moment for some high school students. As a sophomore, Katie Mode can’t wait. “It’s one of the things you look forward to when you start high school and it means getting a little older, and means we’re a step closer to graduating.”
Along with prom and graduation, receiving your high school ring is a milestone to make a memory with. Unlike prom, you’ll always have a reminder of the night–you’ll be wearing it. Unlike yearbooks, you won’t throw a ring out or leave it somewhere. (If you do, the ring has a warranty for a year if purchased through Jostens) Unlike the boyfriend you dated for five months, the ring won’t cheat on you or lie to you. Unlike your school i.d., you’ll actually like showing off and wearing the ring.
Ring ceremony and having the school ring to wear is one of the best experiences high school has to offer. Senior Chris Hammond remembers it clearly. “The ring ceremony is a very fun and memorable event. It gives us a chance to create great memories with our friends and then we have our rings to remember high school by.”
The ring stands for all the memories you make in high school and you’ll probably have it forever. A graduate of North Augusta, Karson Reed, is surprised he hasn’t lost it. “I thought it’d be long lost by now, but I’m glad I still have it, it means a lot to me. Even in college, I still wear it and I plan on always having it.”
The ring ceremony is an elegant, formal ceremony that involves the family in the distribution of the rings. The night is intended to be somewhat family oriented; it is one of the very few school-related ceremonies that incorporates the parents. The presentation of the ring by the parents is optional. The ceremony is for juniors only; you must be in a junior or senior homeroom to be in the ceremony, regardless of how many times you’ve been a junior or senior. To participate, a ring has to be available to give, but does not have to be purchased through Jostens. The student is required to provide the ring to Mrs. Melton or Mrs. Coyle on the morning of the ceremony, if not purchased through Jostens. The ceremony is planned for Monday, October 19, 2009 at 7:00 P.M.
Juniors at last years ceremony, Chris Hammond, Philip Melton, Dillon Temples, Jennfier Price, Emily White and Margaret Ann Williams show off thier new rings.
The dress code for the night is boys in button-up or collared shirts, tucked in with dress pants and dress shoes; girls in dresses, skirts, or nice dress pants and a blouse with clean and neat shoes. The formal dress requirements help make the night special. Kerri Busbee, a junior, won’t forget the ceremony, “Seeing everyone dressed nicely and having my family there to see me get my ring, I won’t ever forget it and I’ll cherish the memory.”
