Silver Creek graduates 10, Wood River graduates 167
BY JEAN JACQUES BOHL
Last Thursday was no ordinary day for the Silver Creek and Wood River high school seniors. It was their last regular school day. By 1 p.m. they had taken their last finals in sixth hour and were now done with high school academics.
The halls quickly filled with happy students celebrating, hugging and taking care of last minute check-out details. Graduation rehearsal was to follow. Like a well-choreographed ballet, everything had to be just right for graduation on June 10.
Thursday was a day full of emotions for many seniors as they reflected on a chapter of their lives that was now closing. When asked how they felt, they used expressions of “elated,” “so excited,” and “I cannot believe it.”
Being a high school senior is an identity, and now that identity was gone. For one year they were at the head of the high school pecking order, enjoying their upper-class status.
The predictability, routine and certainty of high school life are now behind them and new challenges with their uncertainties now await them. They are now adults. For many, the next step will be attending college, where anonymity is more the norm.
Many seniors still face the demands of graduation rituals: spending time with relatives, planning the open-house circuits, enjoying a final time or two with friends. Some will be leaving the Wood River Valley as soon as next week.
It is also a time for many to say farewell to the teachers that made a difference in their lives. Time for a hug and some misty eyes; a last look at a favorite classroom.
At the Community Campus, parent volunteers and Blaine County School District staff were busy setting up and decorating for the Senior Bash to follow after graduation. The grand prize is a used black Mercedes SUV parked in front of the high school entrance.
The 2016 graduating class in Hailey consists of 10 Silver Creek High School seniors and 167 Wood River High School seniors. Seven Silver Creek and 145 WRHS students have plans to attend college or a trade school or join the military.
Sixty-seven percent of WRHS graduates took at least one Advanced Placement class in preparation for college requirements. Sixty of them will be the first in their families to attend a post-secondary institution.