The Class of 1998 bid farewell to Paynesville Area High School during the graduation ceremony Thursday night in the high school auditorium.Before a full house of their peers, friends and relatives, the seniors reflected on their school years and what they anticipate in the future.
Seniors Jennifer Lindquist and Lindsey Moser reflected on their years at Paynesville. They addressed their fellow students as accomplices in crime. “Thanks for celebrating this day with us,” they said to the audience.
To the students... “We’ve come a long way in our 13 years. We found pate doesn’t taste too bad; we’ve heard that sex education is necessary in every grade from sixth through tenth, even though the facts of life don’t change much; and above all, we’ve learned how to love and laugh. We have discovered how important good friends are...how a friend’s smile can bring cheer, their hug can comfort and they are there when you need a shoulder to cry upon,” Lindquist and Moser said.
They ended with a message from a recent Calvin and Hobbs cartoon...It’s a magical world, let’s go explore it!”
Gary Haglund presented the teachers response to the senior message. “Several students offered me advice on what to say tonight. They referred to the Bob Newhart commercial where all he says is “Do things.” I think the implication is to keep it short,” Haglund said.
“‘Do things’ doesn’t say it all. This past month the students have been in school physically but not mentally. They have a glassy stare, tired look, and are in perpetual daydream. I asked my first hour class to relate items to senioritis. They came up with the following:
•It is like a car with no gas, you can push and push but get very little results.
•It is an itch that won’t go away.
•It is like an electric fence which isn’t grounded...it doesn’t work.
Haglund told the students a dream is just a dream until you make it work. The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work,” Haglund concluded. “Do things, well!”
Dean Hanson, president of the Paynesville Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation announced the recipients of this year’s awards (see related story).