Senior class leaves home at South High

To see more graduation photos, click here.

Stephen Marcott, the 2011 valedictorian of Valley Stream South High School, did not begin his commencement speech by describing a memory or reciting a famous quote. Instead, he spoke about his love for the New York Mets. Marcott explained that the former home of his favorite team, Shea Stadium, was a place Mets’ fans didn’t want to abandon for the newer Citi Field — much like his fellow graduates may be unnecessarily apprehensive about leaving South High, he said.

“Citi isn’t Shea, but it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “We can’t always turn back to all we’ve ever known, because that is to say that we long for the past and resist change. College’s rough, carbon-like exterior will give way to the shining of diamonds.”

Although rainy weather kept the ceremony indoors, South High graduates still celebrated their past while looking to the future at commencement last Friday.

Principal Maureen Henry said she decided to host graduation in South Hall after receiving word from the superintendent’s office that ceremonies district-wide would be held indoors due to the threat of rain. Each of the 220 graduates were given two tickets to South Hall for family and friends, while others could watch a simulcast of the graduation in the gymnasium.

Henry said that although the school could have accommodated more people outdoors, the weather did not put a damper on the enthusiasm of the graduates. “The sun is still shining on the class of 2011,” she said. “This is a wonderful occasion where we get to celebrate this class and all they have done at our school.”

Through their charity work for organizations like the Hewlett House and support of troops abroad and a South High junior battling cancer, Henry said this year’s senior class showed that small acts of kindness make a big difference in the school community.

Class advisor and mathematics teacher Deborah Fletcher agreed, explaining that the students helped her cope with her father’s death years ago. Standing with co-class advisor Stephanie Calzetta with tears streaming down her face, Fletcher said she had a hard time putting the “one million and one things” she wanted to say to them into words because the class made a great impact on her and others at South High.

“You, as 13 and 14-year-olds, showed me more sympathy and kindness than some adults,” she said in her speech. “I cannot express how you have affected all of our lives. Unfortunately, it is time to say goodbye to the students of the class of 2011. But now we can say hello to new friends.”