High school seniors will have outdoor graduation

A La Conner High School senior class that was separated and isolated for parts of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic will join together for the school's 129th annual commencement exercises tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. at Whittaker Field.

The class, which adapted to remote learning during the early portion of its high school sojourn, features 10 National Honor Society members, including valedictorian Hadley Shears and salutatorian Josie Harper.

"We continue to be proud of these students for all the hardships and obstacles they overcame during their high school experience," Middle and High School Principal Christine Tripp told the Weekly News on Friday. She will formally recognize NHS members at graduation,

"We wish them well," Tripp said. "We're proud of them now and will continue to be proud of them for their future accomplishments while also remembering their service to others and the community while at La Conner High School."

Retiring school counselor Lori Buher echoed those sentiments.

"I have great admiration for this class," she said. "They showed their resilience and their perseverance in the face of the pandemic and the chaos it caused."

Buher cited the independent spirit showed by class members, who juggled multiple roles while navigating the uncharted waters of student life during a pandemic.

"They've grown stronger from the COVID experience," said Buher. "They've been responsible for childcare, they've mastered the art and confusion of online learning and I think they have come to appreciate and value the importance of their peers and those relationships."

She will present the much-anticipated diplomas with school board members.

Shears and Harper are among several class members with speaking roles.

Jamie Damien-Sams will offer the class remembrance and Rachel Haley has been tabbed to deliver closing comments.

The ceremony will open with welcoming remarks shared in four languages---American Sign Language, Lushootseed, Spanish and English---by Kendall Lee, Matthew Stone, Miguel Cruz and Dakota King Lockrem.

The class will be officially presented by La Conner Superintendent of Schools Will Nelson and honored with a song performed by the Swinomish Canoe Family.

In addition to Shears, Harper and Haley, Raymond Bailey, Jr., Eleanor Drews, Isaias Gonzales-Rojas, Finn Hakenson, Ellie Marble, Cole Medeiros and Kennedy Miller will be introduced as members of NHS, which recognizes students demonstrating outstanding commitment to scholarship, service, leadership and character.

Two students, Brianna Lara-Garibay and Tehani Braga, have graduated early. The class also includes international exchange student Leo Kirbisch.

Junior class members Logan Burks, Taylor Rae Cayou, Zaira Najera-Davalos and Kenai Zimmerman will serve as ushers during the commencement program.

Graduation-related activities began in earnest last week with student car parades at Swinomish and in La Conner followed by a weekend class trip to Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California.