SKANEATELES - For many years, graduating seniors of Skaneateles High School have carried on the tradition of taking a plunge into Skaneateles Lake immediately after receiving their diplomas.
On Sunday afternoon, SCS Board of Education President Irene Stafford gave this year's graduates some valuable advice.
“Think before you leap,” she told them. “This leap (into the lake) is symbolic of how you will attack many experiences in your life. And if anyone ever tells you to go jump in a lake, you can say, ‘I've already done that.'”
Approximately 150 members of the Class of 2008 took the plunge at the 58th annual commencement in Clift Park.
Though the overcast skies threatened rain, the graduates and hundreds of families, friends and well-wishers remained dry - until the seniors' leap into the lake, that is - during the 90-minute ceremony.
“You are all individuals. But collectively, you should be proud to be the Class of 2008,” SCS Superintendent Philip D'Angelo said during his opening remarks. “The relationships you've developed while here will stay with you the rest of your lives.”
Not long after the ceremony began, a few random raindrops fell on the crowd, prompting principal Georgette Hoskins to jump ahead in the program to the diploma presentations. Luckily, the raindrops quickly ceased.
After each graduate received their diploma amidst cheers and catcalls, Hoskins moved on to the presentation of awards and scholarships.
Then valedictorian Julie Dmochowski gave her address, and it was easy to see why she finished at the top of her class.
Dmochowski began her speech with an inspirational quote from actress Judy Garland: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”
One of her all-time favorite movies, she continued, is “The Wizard of Oz.”
“As we graduate, we are eager to follow our own yellow brick roads,” she said. “And one day our brains will let our hearts know that we can follow our dreams - brick by yellow brick.”
Then as the huge crowd bathed them in warm applause, the graduates all rushed to the dock and took the traditional leap into the icy water.
“We are unique here in Skaneateles because we are one of the few places where the graduation ceremony is held lakeside,” Stafford said. “I hope you realize how lucky you've been to grow up here.”
Class notes
Valedictorian: Julie Dmochowski
Salutatorian: Ellen Meyer
Graduating class: 157
“Think before you leap,” she told them. “This leap (into the lake) is symbolic of how you will attack many experiences in your life. And if anyone ever tells you to go jump in a lake, you can say, ‘I've already done that.'”
Approximately 150 members of the Class of 2008 took the plunge at the 58th annual commencement in Clift Park.
Though the overcast skies threatened rain, the graduates and hundreds of families, friends and well-wishers remained dry - until the seniors' leap into the lake, that is - during the 90-minute ceremony.
“You are all individuals. But collectively, you should be proud to be the Class of 2008,” SCS Superintendent Philip D'Angelo said during his opening remarks. “The relationships you've developed while here will stay with you the rest of your lives.”
Not long after the ceremony began, a few random raindrops fell on the crowd, prompting principal Georgette Hoskins to jump ahead in the program to the diploma presentations. Luckily, the raindrops quickly ceased.
After each graduate received their diploma amidst cheers and catcalls, Hoskins moved on to the presentation of awards and scholarships.
Then valedictorian Julie Dmochowski gave her address, and it was easy to see why she finished at the top of her class.
Dmochowski began her speech with an inspirational quote from actress Judy Garland: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”
One of her all-time favorite movies, she continued, is “The Wizard of Oz.”
“As we graduate, we are eager to follow our own yellow brick roads,” she said. “And one day our brains will let our hearts know that we can follow our dreams - brick by yellow brick.”
Then as the huge crowd bathed them in warm applause, the graduates all rushed to the dock and took the traditional leap into the icy water.
“We are unique here in Skaneateles because we are one of the few places where the graduation ceremony is held lakeside,” Stafford said. “I hope you realize how lucky you've been to grow up here.”
Class notes
Valedictorian: Julie Dmochowski
Salutatorian: Ellen Meyer
Graduating class: 157
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