Rain fails to dampen THS graduates' spirit

by PHIL NELSON Members of Trinity High School's graduating class of 2009 toss their mortarboards into the air following Friday's ceremony in the THS gym.

Steady rain pelted Trinity High School last Friday night, but it couldn't dampen the spirits of the Class of 2009 as family and friends crowded into the high school gymnasium instead of onto a soggy football stadium to watch their seniors graduate.

As skies darkened, school administrators prepared for the last-minute switch to an indoor ceremony by printing tickets — nine for each of 90 graduating seniors — to give their invited families and guests should rain force the crowd inside where capacity was limited to 950 people.

With the commencement ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m., the final decision to move it indoors was made at 6:15 p.m.

"We hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst," said Vice Principal Craig Miller who noted that the graduates had rehearsed on the football field twice, but not inside the gym where they were seated in bleachers on the stage after marching in and pairing up in the middle aisle of the gym floor.

Above, Gabrielle Green- Nickerson and John Pyle perform the national anthem Friday. At left, class speakers Kelly Metcalf and Katie Tenneson thank family and friends for their support.

"The bleachers were a little challenging to maneuver, but it all worked out," Miller said. As 7 p.m. neared, there were still a few empty seats in the gym, so anyone else waiting outside without a ticket was allowed to go in.

If anything, spirits were amplified in the enclosed space as the crowd cheered its graduates on.

Associated Student Body President Candice Watanabe led the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by the national anthem performed flawlessly as a saxophone duet by seniors Gabrielle Green-Nickerson and John Pyle. Principal Michael McAllister delivered a commencement speech, noting the teachers at Trinity High have done an excellent job of preparing the graduates to thrive in "an info-centric world where you will need to learn, unlearn and relearn changing sets of skills every day."

 

 

 

Class speakers Katie Tenneson and Kelly Metcalf shared the podium, thanking family, friends and teachers for supporting them throughout their high school years.

“It’s 720 days, 17,280 hours and 1,036,800 minutes — that’s how long you’re in high school and it goes by way too fast,” Tenneson said, adding she felt honored to be the fifth generation of her family to graduate from Trinity High School and fortunate to have deep family ties to the community.

Together, they thanked many of their teachers by name for their support and guidance over the past four years.

They also voiced special thanks to three women — Laura Lowden and their own mothers, Renie Tenneson and Karen Metcalf — for more than 18 years of volunteering “at every school function including games, tournaments and every Sober Grad, whether they had a kid involved or not. After this Friday night, they are officially retiring.”

Many of the graduating seniors have been together since preschool and Tenneson said in closing, “We grew up together, struggled together, thrived together and now we’re graduating together. Congratulations to the Class of 2009!”

Members of the Trinity Alps Unified School District Board of Trustees presented diplomas to the graduates, and high school counselor Jaime Green thanked Principal McAllister for his years of service at Trinity High. He noted that after nine years here, McAllister is also moving on “from the Wolfpack’s lair to the Cubs’ den,” having accepted the job of district superintendent for the Southern Humboldt Unified School District in Miranda.

Green also welcomed Trinity High School’s new principal, Debra Schoeppach who attended the ceremony and begins work here July 1. “We will hold hands through these tough economic times. Don’t worry about it — we’ve got it,” Green assured the audience to a round of applause.

Trinity High School stopped officially designating a class valedictorian several years ago, but it does identify the top 10 percent of the class as honors graduates based on grade point averages. For the Class of 2009, those students are Monica Patel, Scott Croom, Macy Fackrell, Gabby Green-Nickerson, Emily Haugen, Beverly Lopez, Kelly Metcalf, Katie Tenneson and Candice Watanabe.

Following the graduation ceremony, Sober Grad festivities commenced with all of the high school students invited to attend the all-night, oncampus revelry that included an outdoor climbing wall (when it stopped raining), a shuttle bus to the bowling alley and Lowden Park swimming pool, games, tunes, dancing and food provided by community donations, fundraising efforts, an entrance fee for non-seniors and volunteer chaperones willing and able to stay up all night.