Slater High School bids farewell to 38 graduates

Although the Slater High School gymnasium felt like an evening in an oversized sauna to many during Saturday evening's 2005 commencement ceremony, that didn't deter hundreds of family members and friends from showing up to celebrate the graduation of the senior class.

The 38 graduating seniors sat through Superintendent Paul Vaillancourt's commencement speech and an oration, partly in song, by New York music artist Phillip Officer before Principal Paul Crews began announcing scholarship awards for many of the graduating seniors.

Crews commented on the many opportunities in various fields the graduates have lying ahead of them.

"With all the career opportunities, especially in technology, these kids have opportunities to succeed and do well in fields that weren't available to many of us years ago," Crews said.

Crews also explained that by being in a small school setting, the number of students enrolled allows for closer relationships with both the students and their parents.

"In a small school environment, you have an opportunity to build close relationships … with the students and parents," Crews said. "I've known some of the kids since they were born and the parents are a very important part of student education. Without parental support, it makes our job much harder."

Crews then shared a statistic that he said he was extremely proud of.

"I'm happy to say that 100 percent of our students have graduated this year," he said. "It doesn't happen in every school and it doesn't happen here every year, so I'm very proud. It all goes back to maintaining good communication with the parents."

Contact Eric Coley at

marshallfaith@socket.net