2024 PHAA Graduation Ceremony

Monday June 3, 2024

Deadlines for Registrations are in May 2024

The PHAA 2024 graduation ceremony will take place on Monday June 3 at the Bongiorno Conference Center in Carlisle. The deadline for ordering the Dinner Buffet, the Overnight Accommodations and the Breakfast Buffet was May 20, so it is too late to order those. But you can still order tickets and the graduate can still decide to participate in the ceremony and even perform during the ceremony.

The ceremony will start with a sit-down Dinner Buffet at 5:30pm in the Bongiorno Center's Dining Room. The ceremony itself will begin in its gym at 7pm. There are overnight accommodations and a breakfast buffet available at the Bongiorno Center for those who decide to stay the night after the ceremony. Here is the campus map of the Bongiorno Center which shows the locations of these two buildings.

Here's a map showing the location of the Bongiorno Conference Center. It is centrally located for Pennsylvania: about 30 minutes from Harrisburg, 2 hours from Philadelphia and 3 hours from Pittsburgh. The address of the center is 430 Union Hall Rd., Carlisle PA 17013.

The only required expense is the $5 Ceremony Ticket. Everyone in your party must have a ticket, even the graduate. The other items below are optional:

• Ceremony Ticket. The cost is $5 per person (if old enough to need own seat).
• Dinner Buffet. The cost is $20 per person.
• Child Dinner Buffet. The cost is $10 per child (ages 5-12, children under 5 free).
• Overnight Accommodations. $95 per room (each room has a queen size bed and 3 bunkbeds - 7 beds in all, enough to sleep 8). 
• Breakfast Buffet. The cost is $10 per person.
• Child Breakfast Buffet. The cost is $5 per child (ages 5-12, children under 5 free).

All students who participate have to post a 50-100 word biography of themselves for inclusion in the ceremony program. Optional: You can perform a 5 minute performance or give a 5 minute speech at the ceremony. Normally, every graduate who offers to perform or give a speech is included in the program. Click here to post your biography and info about your optional performance or speech by May 27. Our 2023 ceremony was at the same location. (Click here to watch it on our YouTube channel.) This year's ceremony will be quite similar.

Any color of cap and gown is OK for the ceremony. (We will have a variety of colors to represent the diversity of homeschooling.) We will have a few extra at the ceremony. If you wish, you can obtain free gowns (color: hunter green) from Claudia Joye (ctjoye@gmail.com, 610-524-0296). She gives them away free to PHAA grads if you want to travel to her home in Exton. She also mails them out for $10 shipping and handling.)

At this year's PHAA Graduation Ceremony, we are asking each graduate to create a 'trifold display' visually sharing highlights of their homeschooling high school years. These will be set up in the back part of the gymnasium building where the graduation ceremony will be held-- families will set these up before the ceremony begins (we will have ample tables set up for this).

The displays might include:

• Name of the student, name of hometown
• photographs-- at least one of just the graduate. Other photos might include family, friends, youth groups, etc.
• sample writings
• special certificates or recognitions earned
• future plans
• info on online classes, co-op involvement, dual enrollment
• extra-curricular activities-- drama, sports, music, the arts
• volunteer service work
• part-time work and internship experiences
• special adventures and travels

We're looking forward to seeing the individuality of each graduate display-- and these will also be wonderful to share at your own family's graduation party, too! We know everyone attending the ceremony will appreciate the chance to get to know each graduate through these creative displays!

Our commencement speakers will be Rebecca and Ruth Brown, PHAA graduate twins who own the Civil War Tails diorama museum in Gettysburg.

Click here to register for the ceremony in the PHAA Store. Registrations will be accepted until May 20. Don't delay. Register now!

[Note: If you have any medically necessary dietary restrictions in your party, click on the following link to post them: https://bongiornocc.com/dietary-requests/ by May 20 - specify which meal or meals.]