Grad Night
Garfield Seniors, get ready to party!
Latest news: Ticket sales now open! (Last revised: March 23, 2024)
Hello Class of 2024 families!
Your senior is invited to join Grad Night, an annual tradition at Garfield! It is a safe, sober, fun, all-night party immediately following their graduation ceremonies.
When and Where
On the night of Graduation (June 17, 2024), seniors will board charter buses near
Memorial Stadium from 8-9 pm after the end of their graduation ceremony. The buses will leave Memorial Stadium at 9pm and will return to the Garfield parking lot around 4:45am after some 8 hours of activities.
The location of the party is the only secret. Seniors will not find out where they are going until the buses reach the venue.
Safety of the kids is the top-most priority for us.
⇒ We will have over 20 adult chaperones (Garfield teachers and parent-volunteers – see how to volunteer below).
⇒ Kids will leave their cellphones in bus storage upon boarding, so they can fully enjoy each other without their electronics! We will have emergency phone numbers should you have to reach your kids during the night.
Food
Students will receive late night dinner and light breakfast as part of their ticket. Garfield PTSA provides snacks for the kids upon boarding the buses. Please email us if your student has special dietary needs. (Contact info below.)
Cost
All seniors are invited and encouraged to attend! Ticket price depends on a family’s ability to pay.
Full price is $200 per senior.
We are also able to provide the following pricing options thanks to PTSA support and donations from families and friends who support Grad Night with donations:
- $100 discounted tickets are available if $200 is beyond a family’s means
- $30 tickets for Free/Reduced Lunch students
- $0 full scholarship tickets
Only students who officially qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch may opt for the $30 tickets.
Please reach out to Mr. Rees, Ms. Tiffany, Ms. Sloan, or Mrs. WB to request the full scholarship.
Ticket price covers the cost of the party venue and food. Garfield PTSA covers busing and other costs. Please donate on ticket purchase page if you can contribute.
HERE’S HOW TO REGISTER! – Three Steps
Note: We plan to close registration on June 1st to allow time for our parent-run team to have time to coordinate this event. Please register in advance.
Step 1. Purchase your ticket at https://garfieldptsa.ejoinme.org/Gradnight2024Tickets
Step 2: Complete and Submit Form(s)
Complete Senior Release Form 2024.pdf. Required of ALL students and must be signed by students and parent/guardians.
- Form may be downloaded, edited and emailed to gradnight@garfieldptsa.org
- OR, download, print and submit to the main office at Garfield HS
- GHS office also has paper copies for students to take home to complete
Important reminder: Both student’s and parent/guardian’s signatures are required.
If student has a life-threatening allergy, food restriction, or asthma: please also submit this form:
Emergency Care Plan 2024.pdf
Step 3. Once you have completed Steps 1 and 2, within a few days you will receive an email with information on how to sign up for a bus.
Help the Garfield parents volunteering their time to make this event possible: fill out and submit your forms to the Garfield front office as soon as you purchase your tickets. Your ticket is not issued until we receive the completed form(s).
Parent/Guardian Volunteers and Needed!
We are recruiting:
- Chaperones for the party, ideally parents and guardians of non-seniors (unless your kid is totally fine with you being at the party!) This commitment is normally for the full duration of the party, including riding the buses!
- Bus-loading volunteers, a great option for senior parents and guardians, because the commitment ends as soon as the buses are loaded!
- Volunteers to work on Grad Night 2025 – train with Grad Night 2024 parents to help continue this annual tradition!
To volunteer, contact us at gradnight@garfieldptsa.org.
Traditionally Grad Night chaperoning is a pay-it-forward volunteering event for parents of juniors. Food is provided during the event. No experience needed, just parents who are willing to stay up all night for these Garfield graduates!
Questions?
Email Grad Night co-chairs Anne-Phyfe and Krista at gradnight@garfieldptsa.org.
Q&A about the Grad Night tradition
For many years, Garfield seniors have celebrated together at the “sober and safe” Bulldog Grad Night party, with support and coordination by the PTSA and volunteer chaperones.
What is Grad Night? Following the commencement ceremony, students and chaperones board charter buses to one or more “mystery” party venues for many hours of entertainment, food, and fun. Among recent venues are the Family Fun Center, a downtown Seattle night club, and Dave and Buster’s. The buses return everyone to Garfield early the morning after graduation.
Who pays for this? The Garfield PTSA provides major funding to subsidize this last “evening of enchantment.” Tickets are priced on a sliding scale, including free tickets for those who request them. (We encourage those who can pay full cost to also help support others with a donation; the actual cost of this event is more than $200 per person.) The ticket cost includes transportation, food, entertainment, and a senior gift.
Who can attend? ALL seniors are encouraged to attend this event, from start to end. (Students are not allowed to join the event partway through.) Guests are not permitted.
Who are the chaperones? Parents, guardians and teachers willing to volunteer to stay up into the wee hours!
What are the volunteer opportunities? Member or co-chair of the Grad Night Planning Committee; Chaperone; Bus Loader. A professional event-planning company does much of the work. Contact at gradnight@garfieldptsa.org if you have not seen publicity about how to volunteer.
How do I get full information? Details on tickets, how to volunteer, etc., are announced by the PTSA in late winter each year through various methods (in-school announcements/posters, PTSA newsletter, website and Facebook page, etc.).