What did you wear to your 8th grade graduation?

That sounds like a lot for 8th grade. We had one prom in our high school… when we graduated. Why would a school throw more than one prom for the same cohort?

I just wore a skirt and blouse, not that big a deal. I have had two kids leave 8th grade and head to high school (one this year) and there was no graduation ceremony for either of them. Aside from a pat on the back for making it to high school, they didn’t get a celebration.

I didn’t have a grade 8 party… you just got a report card and then you find out if you passed or failed the grade. In grade 12 is the only time that I got to were the gown and tasselled hat. In the states sometimes they even have pre-kindergarten ceremonies with gown and tassels.

We stayed in jr. high through 9th grade and ended the year like any other. “Have fun this summer, write and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” and then split.

My kids were in what was called upper school from 7th through 12th so there was one graduation at the very end.

Eighth grade?

I think a tunic length t-shirt and a hippie skirt. It wasn’t much of a graduation – just a presentation in the lunch room after lunch period was over. The only reason I really remember it was because I got the “Perseverance Award”, for putting up with being bullied and having no friends, and still not killing myself before they could push me off on another school. Yeah, that was a great day.

I guess it’s not such a big deal in other places then. Here’s a picture of one in Bakersfield. These even have caps and gown. My kids were in the late 90’s and the clothes were crazy grown up for 8th graders.

I was homeschooled in 8th grade.
To my high school graduation I wore shorts and a tank top under my cap ad gown. No one was going to see them anyways.

I wasn’t even home-schooled. I just didn’t go my 8th and 9th grade year. Mom was into her own things and making sure I went to school wasn’t one of them.

I really don’t remember. haha
I remember taking my daughter shopping for a dress, and again, I’d have to dig into the archives. Ancient history now. I think I paid about $90 for her dress and that was in 2000 I think.

We had an assembly in the school cafeteria. Yay!

That’s over the top. Friendships change between middle and high school, and we all realized it, so the graduation ceremony and time after was emotional. There was no need for a gown or a limo. Everyone graduates 8th grade. It’s the rite of passage that is recognized, not the accomplishment.

Nice pants and a new shirt purchased for the occasion, and white shoes (as per school request). Nothing fancy. Not sure what I did after – probably went to dinner with family. This was over 30 years ago, though, so maybe now things are different.

I just don’t get why there would be a huge ceremony for 8th grade. It’s almost as if it implies that it is as big a milestone as completing high school. Are a large proportion of students stopping at 8th grade? Aren’t they expected to complete high school?

I wore a pretty little dress, and for my family it was a reason to celebrate. It’s kind of incentive to continue I suppose, and family support is important.

@dappled_leaves: Legally, someone couldn’t drop out after 8th grade, unless perhaps they’d attained a certain age (like if they got left back a whole lot). It’s just a pleasant milestone that signals the start of high school and is another reason to boost the child’s self esteem and inspire them to continue.

I went to a middle school in an area populated by rich white kids and even we didn’t go that far. Then again, that was 2005. It was a different time :P

I did wear a suit and tie to it—formal wear was required (and I was one of the kids giving a speech), but limos and expensive dresses? Didn’t really see much of that.

@DominicX, I think you’re younger than my kids. :-)
Bakersfield is a town of wannabes. That might have something to do with it.

Yeah, I’m not getting this “graduation” thing, especially if they take it to extremes. They graduate them from Kindergarten, then from 8th grade. But…maybe it encourages the kids to keep going and tells them “Good job!” That’s not a bad thing.

I didn’t graduate from anything except HS (and college.) Afterward HS graduation we all went to a lake and partied hard. No limos, no fuss, just party on dudes.

Oh, I just remembered, the school did send us on a trip to the local big amusement park (Busch Gardens) during one school day, in celebration of our 8th grade graduation. We had to pay I think half the admission price. I liked it because they didn’t require us to be with chaperones all day, so I got to ride the big rides several times in a row by myself.

We were told to wear a white dress. That was it.

It was 1980, and our graduation dance was held in the gym immediately after, so we all got dressed up.

I wore a $20 powder blue spaghetti strap gown (what would be called a maxi dress today), and $28 beige 6” spiked heels with an ankle strap.

I loved those frikkin’ shoes and still have them as a memento, since they are now too small. My mother normally wouldn’t let me wear such trampy footwear, but she saw how much I loved them. A funny thing was that a few months later my grandmother (who was around 70 at the time) sent a photo of herself ballroom dancing in the identical dress!

I am having a tough time remembering my son’s 8th grade graduation in 2005. I’m thinking that he might have opted not to go, since he was excited about transferring from public school to the prep school he really wanted to attend the following year, which literally made me go bankrupt. If I remember when I see him after work, I’ll ask about it.