By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CASWELL – Five students graduated from the Dawn F. Barnes Elementary School on June 11 during a small graduation ceremony attended by family, friends and community supporters.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Eighth-grade graduates of the Dawn F. Barnes Elementary School included, from left, McKayla Saucier, Owen LaBreck, Kelly Clavet, Bret Morgan and Jackie Peers.
As explained by the graduates’ teacher, Ryan O’Neal, each graduate was given the opportunity to share a commencement speech as the students spent a large portion of the year honing their writing skills.
The five graduates — Kelly Clavet, Owen Labreck, Bret Morgan, Jackie Peers and McKayla Saucier — expressed their thanks to family, friends and faculty for their support throughout their attendance at the Caswell school, and also sharing sentiments about their educational future as freshmen next fall at the Limestone Community School.
Labreck’s views on the coming fall personified many of graduates sentiments about the future.
“A lot of people have been asking ‘do you think you’re ready for high school?’ and I say ‘I know I’m ready,’” Labreck told the audience.
Superintendent William Dobbins told the five graduates that he will miss every one of them, and encouraged them to come back and visit any time.
“Our expectations for you are very high, and you will all live up to them,” he said foresightedly.
“I going to miss these five students,” Dobbins added, asserting that each graduate is special in their own ways.
The last lesson of the year, O’Neal shared some words of wisdom for the graduates to take with them on their journey to LCS.
While some of his advice elicited laughter from the audience (like his reminder for graduates to remember their open-toe shoes, which are allowed in Limestone but not Caswell) and other parts of his speech were practical (like reminding the graduates to always write in complete sentences and show their work during math), a large portion of the lesson encouraged the students to remember where they come from.
“Remember you represent Caswell during your time in Limestone; do us proud. Remember where you’re from,” O’Neal encouraged. “You’re LCS students now, but you will always be Caswellians and be proud of that. Best of luck class of 2012.”
