ISS Graduation

Joe and Matt....both injured as they go into the summer before high school - No, Matt didn't break his arm cliff jumping with us...he broke it on the HS beach BBQ day on the last full day of school...a week prior to his move to Houston.
Joe and Matt looking unnaturally smart in their nice clothes for graduation. Matt's sister, Megan, graduated that night.
Four of the Scottish men graduating...wearing their national dress (pardon the pun) from Scotland. They looked quite impressive, actually.
The 2009 ISS graduating class...congratulations!
On June 4th, 2009, 44 seniors graduated from the International School of Stavanger. I think this is the largest number...last year there was only 32 graduates. There were 13 different nationalities represented among the 44 grads. Collectively, they were accepted into 70 different universities around the world. I knew several of them and was happy to be able to see their last moments at ISS.
The class was small enough that when each name was called forward to receive his or her diploma, they paused for a few minutes for photo opportunities for the family and friends. They also had two of the high school teachers reading a message written by that student. It was only a few paragraphs long, but it told of their memories of high school, their plans for the futures and thank yous and farewells to family and friends. It was really very personal. Even though I only knew a few of the students, by the time graduation was over, I felt like I knew each of them. I hope they are able to keep up that tradition for as long as they can.