Telstar Class of 2010 receives diplomas

Posted June 17-

The Telstar High School Class of 2010 shared memories, laughter, song and words of wisdom in Friday evenings Commencement exercises.

After the 48 class members, family and friends were welcomed by Principal Dan Hart, classmates Megan Bonney and Gavin Lee sang the National Anthem.

Third Honors senior Amy Mahar led off the student speakers.

“If you listen with open ears, watch with open eyes, and feel with an open heart, you cannot be guaranteed the appreciation of the entire world, but you will be appreciated by many, and you will appreciate yourself,” she told her classmates.

Mahar followed her speech by singing “In My Life,” by the Beatles.

Salutatorian Megan Bonney gave a humorous account of trying to decide on a topic for her speech, wondering what she could say that hadn’t already been said before: “Venture forth …. Be brave …. Make mistakes.”

She also said she surveyed her classmates for a speech topic.

Suggestions included “Be funny, don’t be cliché, be a little cliché, rap a Vanilla Ice song.”

Bonney decided in the end simply to offer her classmates a wish.

She said that whether their lives take them to “small town Maine or across the ocean, I wish you happiness. We spend such a short amount of time on this earth, we might as well strive to enjoy it.”

Valedictorian Kara Zadakis also sought the advice of classmates for a topic, receiving suggestions that included telling a joke or story, or just having fun.

“I can’t have fun alone, in front of so many faces, no matter how friendly you all are,” she said to laughter.

Zadakis then used analogies to describe her class and their years growing up together.

“We are many things,” she said. “We are architects: we built a solid foundation, and each year that we’ve gone to school, we’ve added another floor of wisdom and knowledge … We are painters: each and every idea we express, we paint a new hue in the world’s multitudes of colors … We are scien-tists: with each day that passes, we gather new data and make and plan observations and experi-ments.”

She concluded by thanking the community, her classmates, school faculty and her family (“even if I am never home,” she said) for their support.

Reflections

The honors speakers were followed by Carin Donachie, Michael Fitzmorris and Ethan Morin, who offered Reflections — humorous memories of the class members’ years in school.

Fitzmorris remembered his time at the Woodstock Elementary School, including rug burns from the carpeting and “being in the portable when it was freezing cold outside for art and music class.”

In middle school, recollections included “losing the hamster, the time we planted flowers on Route 26 and they haven’t grown yet, going to the Casablanca every Friday night, the bridge projects where we were not allowed to use Superglue, but all of us did.”

And in high school: having senioritis junior year, bomb scares and kids who couldn’t spell ‘bomb’ right.”

Following Reflections, the class sang an enthusiastic rendition of “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty, led by music teacher Jennifer Bennett.

SAD 44 Board of Directors chair Sid Pew then offered Congratulatory Remarks, Superintendent David Murphy, Ed.D. certified the graduates, and Hart presented the diplomas.

In keeping with tradition, each graduate in turn handed Hart a small memento. This year the item was a tardy slip, saying they were two minutes late to graduation and unexcused — a joke based on class members’ reputation for being late to school.

Farewell

The Farewell was given by class advisors Ellen Marshall and Sarah Southam.

“You have touched us,” said Southam. “What is special about that is … we weren’t necessarily ex-pecting that from you. We took you on in your sophomore year when you were advisorless. We had heard you were a tough group.

“We thought if we worked together, we could handle the challenge and through it.

“Instead, we got rather attached to you. We started to like you a lot. You taught us that wonderful things can come from unexpected people and situations. Thank you.”

Commencement was closed by Charles Raymond, dean of students.

He asked the class to stand, face successively in four directions, and whisper “thank you”:

Toward the school building, where, he said, they had attended classes, performed plays, social-ized, “and where you were served breakfast and lunch, cleaned up after, kept relatively warm, and mostly dry (to laughter).”

Toward the athletic fields “for the many lessons learned there.”

Toward the faculty, who “spent countless hours “guiding, coaching, reminding and worrying about you.’

Toward family in the audience, “They have always been here for you, and they always will. They are the reason you are here. For all your loved ones, whisper ‘thank you.”