buckingham browne & Nichols school

Class of 2026 Road to
Graduation

BB&N class of 2026 graduation

Date: Friday, June 5
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Nicholas Athletic Center
56 Gerry’s Landing Road
Cambridge MA

Student & Family Events

Date(s)EventDetails
Tuesday, Sep 2, 2025Class of 2026 Welcome Reception5:30 p.m.
Monday, Sep 8, 2025College Counseling Senior Parents Evening7:15 – 8:30 p.m.; US Theater
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2025Senior Parents Co-Dean Zoom Welcome8:30 – 9:30 a.m.; for parents and guardians.
Tuesday, Feb 24, 2026Senior Co-Deans Zoom: SSP Overview6:30 p.m.; for parents and guardians.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026Lifer Party5:00 – 7:00 p.m.; Lower School; Invitation only
Wednesday, May 27, 2026Grade 12 Farewell Dinner5:30 – 7:30
Friday, June 5, 2026Graduation10:00 a.m.

Student Only Events and Milestone Dates

* indicates attendance is required

Date(s)EventDetails
Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025College Flex Day*Families receive a letter; students hear more in class meetings.
Mon, Dec 15 – Fri, Dec 19, 2025Senior Work Week*Senior parents sponsor breakfast daily.
Friday, Dec 19, 2025Senior Yearbook Page Due*
Monday, Feb 9, 2026Senior HolidayNo seniors in classes (8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026100 Knights Event7:30 – 10:30 a.m., Community Room; sponsored by Alumni’s Office.
Thursday, Mar 12, 2026Senior Student/Faculty Dinner*5:45 – 7:45 p.m.
Friday, Mar 13, 2026Last Day of Senior Classes + Beach Party*Beach Party: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., sponsored by Senior Parent Association.
Monday, Mar 30, 2026Start of Senior Spring Project*
Friday, Apr 3, 2026First Spring Senior Class Meeting*11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.; meets weekly thereafter.
Friday, May 22, 2026Last Spring Senior Class Meeting*11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.; followed by Parent Association-hosted lunch.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026Senior Spring Project Share Outs*Time TBD
Monday, June 1, 2026Back-to-Bivouac Day1:00 – 10:00 p.m. (optional)
Tuesday, June 2, 2026Senior Class Meeting*8:45 a.m.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026Senior Prom7:00 – 10:00 p.m., Sheraton Commander Hotel, Cambridge
Thursday, June 4, 2026Graduation Rehearsal*3:00 – 4:30 p.m.; Parent Association-sponsored treat after rehearsal

More Information

Ceremony Details:
Graduation typically lasts 1½ to 1¾ hours.There will be a light reception afterwards, but not a full meal. We hope that the timing will allow you to make family plans easily.

Guests & Seating
We ask you to limit your guest list to no more than 10 people, although there will be room for some larger groups. This number does not include your graduating senior! There are no tickets nor do we take names of your guests. Graduation is open seating, which will begin at 8:30 a.m.

  • Invitations/Announcements: Each family will receive a formal invitation in the mail by the end of April. Dr. Cataldo and Mme. Roucher-Greenberg will distribute additional invitations to the graduates at an upcoming class meeting that you can send to family and friends either as invitations or announcements. If you need additional invitations (10 maximum) your child can pick them up from Mr. Jones at the front desk.
  • Special Circumstances: If you have members of your family who need special seating consideration or who require handicap parking, please email your request to Andrea Cadyma at heads_office@bbns.org. Since accessible parking is also very limited, we encourage friends and family to drop off those who need assistance and park in the available lots.

Dress
The senior class will wear caps and gowns for the upcoming Graduation. Navy blue caps and gowns will be provided by the school for the ceremony. Caps and gowns will be distributed to students during the scheduled Graduation Rehearsal on June 4. We ask that students arrive on campus wearing thoughtful formal attire and appropriate footwear under their gowns.

Seniors
Seniors should arrive at the NAC indoor tennis courts with their caps and gowns no later than 9:00 a.m. for the class photograph and to line up for the procession. We will not hold the picture for latecomers. Please arrange to be dropped off that morning as parking will be extremely limited.

Parking
Parking is limited in the spaces that surround our campus. We recommend that you find alternative transportation such as Uber, Lyft, public transportation or walking. If driving is your only alternative, we ask that you bring as few cars to campus as possible on Graduation Day.

If you drive, parking will be available in two satellite lots, DCR Lot 4 on Soldiers Field Road and at the Grove Street Field parking lot. School shuttles will be making continuous round trips between the satellite lots and the Nicholas Athletic Center, beginning at 7:45 a.m. After the ceremony, the return trips will begin. Because the school does not have exclusive rights to Lot 4, we cannot guarantee available spaces there. If Lot 4 is full, please look to BB&N Staff for alternative parking arrangements. For directions to these two lots, please refer to this interactive map.

Parking is also available along the Cambridge Cemetery side of Coolidge Avenue from which guests can walk over to the Nicholas Athletic Center.

Please note that no parking is allowed along Greenough Boulevard.

Livestream Recording
The ceremony will be livestreamed by the school videographer. Please share this link (https://vimeo.com/event/5876360) with any guests who will be unable to attend the ceremony in person.

Photography
The school photographer will take a picture of each student as they receive the diploma from Dr. Price. In addition, a class picture will be taken just before the class lines up for the Graduation procession. The school will send a copy of each graduate’s photograph plus a copy of the group photograph to each family in the weeks following the ceremony.

The class picture will be taken promptly at 9:05 a.m. We will not be able to wait for latecomers. During the graduation exercises, the area in front of the stage is reserved for official photographers. Parents are welcome to take pictures from the sides, but we ask that you do not position yourselves in front of the stage as it obstructs the paths of the seniors and slows the proceedings.

Keep In Mind…


Absences
If a student is going to be absent from an on-campus commitment (class, senior seminar, class meeting, etc.), a parent/guardian must call or email Ms. Shea in the Dean’s Office. Students must attend all on-campus activities to participate in afternoon athletics, and students must attend 80% of their classes and other commitments in order to pass Senior Spring Project.

Supporting Your Senior
We ask that you support them in achieving and maintaining a healthy balance of giving back, looking forward, and living now. It is our belief that being a senior comes with a degree of inherent leadership and responsibility to the school community; therefore, we hope to inspire and empower the students to genuinely seek opportunities to give back to those who are now where the seniors once were. We also acknowledge and appreciate the vital need that seniors have to look forward as they solidify next steps in their future beyond BB&N; however, we do not want them to lose sight of the fact that life is not just something they are preparing for, it is what is happening to them right now. Accordingly, we will emphasize the importance of authentically living now as much as possible, successfully tending to the day-to-day concerns that they have while taking meaningful time for friends, family, and fun. Anything that you can do at home to model and support them in these goals would not only be a tremendous help to us, but more importantly, a service to your child. Ultimately, this is a time of both excitement and uncertainty for your senior, and we know just how incredibly important your compassion, kindness, and love are to them in this transformative time.