Like many Grade 12 students in B.C., Ally Wyllie has been looking forward to walking the stage and celebrating the end of her time in grade school with her friends. When gatherings around the province were cancelled, including graduation ceremonies, she was crushed.

"I've been waiting for grad forever," she told Radio West host Sarah Penton.

As some restrictions in the province are beginning to lift, Wyllie of Kelowna, B.C., was hoping graduation ceremonies could be added to the list and she says that's why she's started an online petition to make traditional graduation ceremonies and prom nights happen.

On May 1, the Central Okanagan School Board sent a letter to graduates and their families letting them know that due to physical distancing and gathering restrictions, traditional graduation celebrations would not happen this year, but that organizers were working to find a way to make graduation memorable.

Wyllie's school, Rutland Senior Secondary, plans to have a limited number of students walk a stage each day, over a period of five days, as opposed to the traditional three hours, to ensure physical distancing.

As they have in the past, students will get a chance to say thank you to their families and other people who have helped them along the way, and it will all be recorded by a video production company, which will provide final, edited versions with all 400 classmates crossing the stage for students to watch at home.

It comes after extensive discussions with the grad council, according to principal Hugh Alexander.

"They wanted to make sure that they had the opportunity to have their moment on stage," he said.

There had been conversations about postponing the ceremony, but as some students plan to head off to university or travel if they can, it wasn't feasible to wait.

"Who knows when we'll be able to get that many people together in a room again," Alexander said.

But Wyllie doesn't think the planned celebration will be enough for her and her classmates.

"I don't think a virtual ceremony actually seems special," Wyllie said. "I'm sure there's like something can be figured out that's not a virtual ceremony, so it's not just like our hard work is being ripped out from underneath us."

If somewhat more of a traditional graduation ceremony doesn't happen through the school, Wyllie plans to host some sort of celebration herself.

"If the schools don't want to do anything and restrictions get lifted completely, I'm sure our parents are gonna step in. We're growing up and we're moving on with our lives and this is the last little thing going on for us."

The petition gained more than 1,100 supporters in its first four days, and as of Monday night, it had over 1,800 signatures.

"I'm not going to say that this is the most important thing going on in the world because it's absolutely not," Wyllie said. "I just feel like fighting for something that I'm passionate about, even if it doesn't work out."

Despite Wyllie's wishes, B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has made it clear that large gatherings are unlikely to be permitted anytime soon. Health officials have also limited the size of any gathering to 50 people, but only so long as physical distancing can be maintained and, at the moment, are recommending that people remain cautious about expanding their personal "bubbles."