Most school districts across Pennsylvania have been scrambling to make end-of-year plans for the class of 2020 – namely prom and graduation. But Thomas Jefferson High School in West Jefferson Hills School District is taking things a step further by regrouping for the spring musical, “Peter Pan.”

Musical director and former head of the English department at Thomas Jefferson Sandy Barker said that the decision to reschedule the musical wasn’t much of a decision.

“Everybody wanted the opportunity to perform if we could,” she said. “This was a challenging year from the beginning, so we’ve gone into a mindset of ‘here’s another challenge, how do we get through this?’”

“Peter Pan” would be the first musical to be performed on the stage of the newly-constructed high school, and the crew had pulled out all of the stops – including flying equipment, which Barker said is still in the auditorium’s ceiling. In fact, everything for the performance is ready to go inside of the locked auditorium.

The cast and crew were just four rehearsals out from opening night when Gov. Tom Wolf announced schools across Pennsylvania to close for two weeks.

Those two weeks turned into two more weeks, and that turned into schools being shuttered for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

“Our last rehearsal was on March 12. So, the last seven weeks have been keeping the kids up, our big thing is happy thoughts from the ‘Peter Pan’ dialogue,” Barker said. “We have a rehearsal score that every student in the pit, costumer and cast member has been able to continue rehearsing. Some of the kids have done Zoom or Google hangouts to keep their groups intact.”

Barker is doing a survey to see how many students will actually be available on the proposed alternate dates of June 25-27 or July 23-25. She said that the students are very dedicated and want to make this happen “no matter what.” Parents and community volunteers – many of whom are former TJ students who performed in the musicals themselves – are also committed to seeing this through if it’s possible.

If social distancing measures are still in place in July, Barker said that they will have to move on and cancel the performance because there are about 70 students that would be on stage and another 100 who are involved in the wings – including the pit and costume rooms.

Other senior activities rescheduled

According to a letter sent out to parents in West Jefferson Hills School District, the goal is to have a “normal” graduation ceremony. Tentative dates, pending social distancing guidelines, are June 20, July 18 or Aug. 8.

Prom has been restricted to the high school senior class only to limit the number of people in attendance. It will be held at Thomas Jefferson High School on either June 18, July 16 or Aug. 6.

Senior Awards Night will be held virtually during the last week of school, and yearbooks will still be distributed. The letter to parents said that the high school administration will be in contact with pickup logistics.

Students district-wide also will have the opportunity to pick up items that are in their desks or lockers before the end of the school year.

Finally, the school’s Kennywood picnic has been postponed to Aug. 14.

“I know the last month and a half has been a stressful and challenging time for everyone,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Ghilani wrote in the letter. “To watch our school community rise to the occasion and support one another has been inspiring and motivating. … Hopefully, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we will be even more prepared in the future should something like this happen again. I hope that you and your families are healthy and well.”

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