Photo Gallery: The Class of 2012 Graduates from Belmont High

Cameras snapped, parents cheered and classmates hugged each other as the annual ritual known as High School graduation was once again celebrated at inside the Wenner Field House on Sunday, June 3.

And like the previous years, the stands and along the edges of the facility were packed with family and friends to be witness to their sons and daughters accomplishment, completing their requirements to by handed

Before the possession of the soon-to-be the school's latest alumni, Principal Dr. Michael Harvey was rounding up crimson-robed seniors hanging out in the hallways and outside.

"Come on. We have to start this," said Harvey, who was attending his final graduation ceremony in Belmont, in less than a month.

"I've really haven't had much time to think about. It's been busy all day," he said.

But just after 3 p.m., the approximately 270 seniors were finally released from their holding pen in the second-floor wrestling gym to head down the stairs, into a hallway corridor behind faculty and staff before marching together to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstances" into the Field House to a warm welcome.

Harvey began by reading a list of accomplishments by the class of 2012: 29 students with perfect SAT scores, three National Merit Scholarship winners, national champions in an economics competition, regional and state honors in the arts and music, science accolades, athletic winners – a dozen students will continue playing sports in college – and a class that took time out from their own busy schedules to volunteer nearly 10,000 hours to a myriad of causes.

Dr. Thomas Kingston, Belmont's superintendent, noted that Harvey was also graduating with the Class of 2012, having taken eight years to finish his own education in Belmont.

Class President Demetri Markantonis told his colleagues that their responsibility is to "take what we know and what we've learned, having had an edge over most 18-year-olds out there from a very high quality of life, and apply our insights to a constantly changing world."

Elizabeth Miller, the first of two graduates honored with The School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship, noted that Steve Jobs said "you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. As we move forward in our own endeavours, remember your years here. They will serve you well in your next adventure."

The final speaker, Lucia You – the second School Committee Award winner – said that "Going to college is more than a change of institution. It is symbolic of the beginning of adulthood and the loosing of the carefully constructed world of our childhood.

"It is a time to take measured risks and not be afraid of failure. I believe there will be times when we have no idea how to receive or what choice to make and there will definitely be times when we feel frustrated.

"However, despite whatever fears or misgivings you may have, I know we are searching for something fulfilling, a way to impact the world more than we have at this point.

"Our future is uncertain, but our minds are sharp and our hopes are bright and these are all the tools we will ever need."