2024 Odyssey Graduation Information
Please read the critical information below and share it with your parents. Nearly all Graduation-related questions can be answered by reviewing this information. If you have any other questions, please contact us at 702-257-0578.
Academic Questions and Senior Due Dates
All academic questions need to be directed to teachers and counselors. If you need to look up who your counselor is and their contact information, please visit our Counselor’s Corner: https://odysseyk12.org/guidance/
Graduation is Monday, May 20th. If you want to walk in the ceremony, you must pick up your graduation materials (cap, gown, tickets, etc. – see the Graduation Materials Pickup section for more information) by 6:00 PM on Friday, May 17th. In order to pickup your graduation materials, you must be officially “Cleared” to graduate by your counselors. All assignments must be turned in by Thursday, May 16th. On Friday, May 17th, teachers will grade work and counselors will review grades and mark students as “Cleared” to graduate if passing all required classes. Students/Parents will then have until 6:00 PM on Friday, May 17th to pick up the graduation materials.
Senior Meeting (MANDATORY)
All seniors and early-grad juniors and their parents/guardians are required to attend the annual Senior Meeting on Monday, October 9th at The Orleans Arena. This event will provide students and families with vital information needed to prepare for Graduation. More information about this event will be released in September via Moodle.
Cap, Gown, and Senior T-shirt Order Form
Your cap and gown unit will be ordered by the school. Please complete the Cap-Gown and Senior T-Shirt assignments in the Graduation-2024 course in Moodle to submit your order information. Students may keep their caps and gowns after Graduation.
If you do not see the Graduation-2024 course under your course list in Moodle by the end of August, please contact amundy@odysseyk12.org to be enrolled in order to complete the above assignments.
Jostens Deadline (announcements, grad swag, etc.)
All orders for announcements, class rings, and grad swag (t-shirts, hoodies, extra tassels, and more) must be ordered from Jostens by December 15th, 2023. Go to Jostens.com to place these orders. Items like clothing and keychains will ship directly to your home. Announcements and extra tassels will ship to the school.
If you want to order swag after December 15th, 2023, you can still visit Jostens.com to have any of their non-school-specific items shipped directly to you.
Senior Photos
All on-campus and online-only seniors and early-grad juniors may have professional cap and gown photos taken by Bell Photography free of charge. These are the ONLY photos that will be used in the Yearbook and the Graduation Senior Slideshow, so please make sure to have your picture taken on one of these two days.
Date – Friday, December 8, 2023 – Saturday, December 9, 2023
Dress Code – Professional dress (shirt and tie, button-up shirt, blouse, or dress) is required. The school dress code still applies during Senior Photos. Caps and gowns will be provided.
To schedule your photo appointment, please visit the Graduation-2024 course in Moodle and select the day and time you would like to have your photo taken in the Schedule Senior Photos link.
Parents/guardians, these photos can be purchased through Bell Photography. Proofs of the photos will be delivered to the school for students to pick up, and the purchasing information will be provided with the packet.
Graduation Speeches
Each year, the highlight of our graduation ceremony is our student speakers. Any student may submit a speech. If you are interested in giving a speech on stage this year, please submit your speech to Principal Stafford (dstafford@odysseyk12.org).
– Submission Deadline: Friday, January 12th, 2024
– Submit in both writing and a video recording.
– Speeches may not be longer than 2.5 minutes – please make sure you are reading your speech at a slow, steady pace the same way you would at Graduation.
If your speech is selected, you will then be mentored through the process of refining your speech and preparing to speak in front of a live audience on the day of graduation.
For examples of past speeches, please click here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-aCGWfsm23MZR2NxyzFX5wOD4xHrZNHB?usp=sharing
Graduation Materials Pickup
Cleared seniors and early-grad juniors can begin picking up graduation materials Wednesday, May 15th. All students must be marked “Cleared” to graduate by their counselor to pick up any graduation materials. Students will receive an email from their counselor confirming that they have been cleared.
Wednesday, May 15th – Graduation material pickup begins.
Thursday, May 16th – All homework assignments must be turned in.
Friday, May 17th – Teachers will grade final work and counselors will mark students as “Cleared” if passing all required classes. Students and parents will then have until 6:00 PM on Friday, May 17th to pick up materials in order to participate in the ceremony.
Graduation materials include the cap, gown, tassel, senior t-shirt, and tickets. Any Josten’s orders can also be picked up at this time. Students get to keep their caps and gowns after the ceremony.
Graduation Tickets
Tickets are required to enter the venue. All students will receive free tickets for Graduation. The exact number of tickets will be announced in April (likely 10 or more, but this is not guaranteed). Children under 2 who are going to sit in an adult’s lap will not need a ticket. If you need extra tickets, your student can ask their counselors if there are any extras on a first-come-first-serve basis after cap and gown distribution begins. If you have extra tickets you will not be using, please drop them off at the main office to allow another student to use them.
Please note that this event is not recorded or live-streamed. If you have a family member who would like to participate, we recommend you film the portions of the ceremony you would like to share or video call them during the event.
Graduation Dress Code
- Clothing: Please wear dress attire or business casual attire. We understand this varies from person to person, but we believe it is important to dress for this special occasion. No distressed denim, workout clothing, loungewear, etc. will be allowed. Sneakers that are not overly worn out are okay. Flip-flops and slides will not be allowed. We highly recommend that you do not wear tall heels as you will be doing a lot of standing, walking, and stair climbing beforehand during the ceremony.
- Gowns: Please remove the gown from the bag prior to graduation day. Graduation gowns look best if steamed or ironed (at very low heat). All gowns must be worn fully zipped
- Caps: Hair should be worn in a style that allows the cap to fit on the top of the student’s head. Students may decorate caps with school-appropriate designs that allow caps to be worn normally (centered on top of the head).
Orleans Arena Bag Policy for Graduates and Attendees
To learn more about the Orleans Arena bag policy, please visit https://www.orleansarena.com/plan-your-visit. Please note that they do not allow any balloons or noise markers into the venue.
Graduates may bring a small bag to the Rehearsal in accordance with the Orleans Arena bag policy. However, Graduates may not bring a bag to the ceremony. Phone cases with cross-body are allowed, but small purses will not be allowed past the grad check-in point at 5:00 PM.
Graduation Rehearsal (MANDATORY)
Monday, May 20, 2024
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
The Orleans Arena (enter at the northeast corner)
4500 Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89103
Students only at this event – parents, please plan on dropping off and picking up your student.
Students may wear casual clothing. The school dress code outlined in the student handbook will apply to Rehearsal.
Graduation Ceremony
Monday, May 20, 2024
The Orleans Arena
4500 Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89103
6:00 PM
Graduates arrive and doors open for attendees at 5:00 PM. Graduation is estimated to finish by 8:00 PM. The event is expected to end by 8:00 PM. Due to traffic exiting the venue, we recommend making dinner reservations no earlier than 9:00 PM.
Diploma Pickup
Diplomas will be ready for pickup beginning in late June any weekday between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM in Suite 100a. Please note that diplomas are not handed out during the graduation ceremony, so the physical copy must be picked up if you want your diploma.
