PENDLETON — The Pendleton School District has spent the past two months providing grab-and-go lunches, and now its applying the same concept to high school diplomas.

Pendleton High School Principal Melissa Sandven sent out a letter to parents Thursday detailing how the district would conduct a drive-thru graduation ceremony at the Round-Up Grounds on May 30.

Instead of setting up a stage on the western edge of the arena grass and hosting an audience in the grandstands, the district is organizing staggered groups of 25 students to drive around the Round-Up track, picking up a diploma on the way through their lap.

The state’s social distancing guidelines have forced school districts across the state to get creative in how they honor the class of 2020, and like the others, Pendleton’s plan is a product of necessity.

Superintendent Chris Fritsch said the district devised the plan to keep students and families socially distant while maintaining the traditional location of Pendleton High School’s graduation ceremony, which has been held at the Round-Up Grounds since 2014.

On one hand, the event will be similar to years past: The procession will be preceded by the national anthem and speeches from student leaders. Although there won’t be a live audience, family and friends can watch the ceremony on a live stream provided by the Elkhorn Media Group.

“I’m trying to make it as normal as possible,” Sandven said in an interview.

But the main factor preventing a more traditional event is the social distancing rules that remain in place.

Although the state lifted some of Umatilla County’s restrictions on Friday, it still doesn’t allow for gatherings larger than 25 people.

Even in the relatively spacious environs of the Round-Up Arena, trying to conduct an in-person graduation while still honoring the state’s rules was infeasible, Fritsch said.

“It doesn’t matter how big the place is, we can’t have more than 25 people,” he said.

While still allowing students to leave the car to pick up the diploma, the seniors will pick up their diploma from a table and refrain from shaking hands with any of the school officials on the stage. Motorcycles are prohibited.

Fritsch said the Oregon Department of Education is requiring that every senior has access to the graduation ceremony, and he said the district may be able to provide vehicles to any student who doesn’t have access to one.

While districts are concerned every year about the potential for graduates to attend illicit parties after the ceremony, it takes on new importance this year while social distancing is still in place.

But Fritsch said he’s not concerned that students will gather in an unsafe way.

Pendleton High School isn’t the only school holding a drive-thru ceremony. Sandven said Hawthorne will hold its ceremony with similar procedures, but instead of the Round-Up Grounds, it will take place in front of the Pendleton Tech and Trade Center.