Night of Joy, Remembrance at Hoosac Valley Graduation
.jpg) Photo by Patrick Ronan
Dana Labbee's brother, Matt, is handed a gown, hat and diploma during Friday night's commencement at Hoosac Valley High School. |
Seniors donned red and white gowns to celebrate the completion of high school, but for many the ceremony felt incomplete because of a missing graduate.
Dana Labbee, an honors student and multi-sport athlete at Hoosac, died in a car accident on April 22, less than two months before commencement.
Dana was honored throughout the evening. His brother, Matt Labbee, was presented a cap, gown and diploma by three of Dana's close friends. Co-valedictorian Megan Bantle opened her speech with a line that Dana had used before playing a piano selection during last year's talent show: "I'm really nervous, so if I mess up, please laugh."
Class adviser Cheryl Ryan read a letter written by Dana's mother, Martha.
"Good luck to all of you and please remember Dana's smile, and keep it in your hearts," Ryan read from the letter.
 Photo by Paul Guillotte
Hoosac Valley graduates celebrated by spraying each other with silly string. |
The Hurricanes went undefeated on the football field, winning 12 games en route to their first Western Massachusetts Super Bowl championship since 1992. On the basketball court, Robbie Burke surpassed 1,000 points as Hoosac advanced into the sectional championship.
Luke Demers, selected by his classmates to give a speech, said athletics were just one part of Hoosac's history-making year.
"One-third of our class made honors, we recorded some of the highest MCAS scores that the school has ever seen," Demers said. "And as if it wasn't enough that our valedictorian has a 97.3 average. ... our other valedictorian has a 97.3 average."
Bantle, also the class president, gave the first valedictorian speech, and she described a CD that she had compiled to represent the senior class. The playlist ranged from '90s pop music, which her class grew up hearing, to the songs "we obsessed over as a class these past four years at dances."
From Hanson's "MMMBop" to LMFAO's "Shots," the CD's playlist was created by Bantle as a keepsake for seniors as they move on to adulthood. She said each graduate will receive a DVD that will include the playlist, as well as a slideshow of photos.
 Photo by Paul Guillotte
Co-valedictorian Carla Duval said the seniors, while facing tough times, have 'been the best ducks there could be.' |
Duval said her family lives by a rule that says to "be the duck," referring to how a duck has special feathers which allows water to slide off of them. According to Duval, being the duck means letting life's negative aspects slide off, instead of being permanently dampened by them.
"I believe that, as a class, we have been the best ducks there could be," Duval said.
"Our final act as ducks together will be to let the sting of goodbye slide off of us and look to the exciting future that awaits us."
To conclude the ceremony, the seniors unleashed silly string and party poppers on each other, then sang a rousing rendition of the school's fight song.
The party was just beginning for Hoosac's seniors as the school hosted its fifth-straight overnight celebration on graduation night, which was slated to end at 5 a.m. Principal Henry K. Duval said that around 85 seniors and 25 parents took part in the all-nighter, which included activities in the gymnasium, the cafeteria and courtyard.
The theme for the party was "Forever Young."
