Falmouth High Graduates 228 Students

graduated 228 students Saturday in a ceremony that brimmed with optimism, even as it reflected on how the Class of 2011 has overcome no small amount of hardship and tragedy.  

"We started off as the freshman class who was thrown into this school that was in the middle of a major renovation," Senior Class Vice-President Anna Bohnenberger reminded the audience."We dealt with the trailers and icy cold walks to the front portables...we survived that construction and are the first to graduate in the new school, something we will always remember."

Class President Julianna McCorkle, who delivered the commencement speech, pointed out that the school wasn't the only thing to undergo a radical transformation in the past few years—so had the Class of 2011 itself.

"No longer scurrying along the walls, scared to meet our ninth grade destinies, this time we fill the place! It is we who have grown," McCorkle exulted to her classmates. 

Senior Class President Nick Riebesehl also asked the audience to observe a moment of silence for classmate Shannon Mary Thompson, who died two years ago at age 16 in a car accident. 

"We all suffered the loss of a fellow student and true friend," Riebesehl said of Thompson. 

Saturday's ceremonies included words of inspiration and reassurance from graduation speaker (and Channel 5 meteorologist) David Brown, who recounted instances in which he had turned professional setbacks into unexpected opportunities. 

"Success is never final, and failure is never fatal," Brown told the audience. 

Before receiving their diplomas and exiting the Field House for the last time, the Class of 2011 also said goodbye to retiring faculty members Greg Gilbert, Terry Kirby, Richard Mason, Stephanie York, Eileen Bourgeoult and Dottye Cummings.