8th-graders say goodbye to GMB

By: Bill Greenwood
   JAMESBURG — Excitement was in the air Monday night at Grace M. Breckwedel School.
   As the school’s wind ensemble provided the evening’s soundtrack with its version of the graduation-day staple "Pomp and Circumstance," 54 eighth-grade honorees marched two-by-two down the center of the school gym’s floor in their caps and gowns, red for boys and white for girls. As they passed, proud parents on both sides of the aisle snapped away with their digital and disposable cameras, filling the room with small, but bright flashes of light.
   It was a raucous yet fitting start for the school’s 2006-2007 graduation ceremony, during which more than 200 students, friends, family members and school officials gathered to celebrate the end of one era and the beginning of another.
   "Tonight marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives," Superintendent Shirley Bzdewka told the graduates. "Everyone in this room knows you’re ready."
   The ceremony seemed to hold added significance for Ms. Bzdewka, who will retire June 30. Choking back tears, she presented her final graduating class with one last gift, a slideshow of pictures from class trips, dances and other events set to the songs "Graduation Day" by Head Automatica and "You’ll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins.
   Ms. Bzdewka said that life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
   "I hope my graduation gift will leave you breathless tonight," she said.
   Board of Education president Don Peterson delivered a message of his own to the class.
   Recounting an e-mail he had received bearing the subject line "This made my day, I hope it makes yours," Mr. Peterson told the story of a New York high school teacher trying to let her students know that who they are makes a difference in the world. After honoring all of her students with a blue ribbon, she gave each of them three ribbons and told them to go and honor others. One child chose to honor a junior business executive, who honored his boss in turn. When the boss then honors his 14-year-old son, giving him a ribbon and vowing to pay more attention to him, the gesture is enough to make the son rethink his plans to run away from home.
   "Who you are does make a difference," he said. "Tonight, I’m passing the blue ribbon on to you."
   Class valedictorian Jamae Lucas also addressed her fellow classmates, reminding them of the times they spent together and imploring them to keep their memories of GMB School in their hearts forever.
   "These memories will be forever cherished," she said. "Let’s think of high school as a chance to make more memories."
   She also thanked school officials and the various family members in attendance, saying they will still need their support as they venture out into uncharted territory.
   "We still need you in our lives," she said. "We will still make mistakes, and hopefully, we’ll learn from them. Isn’t that what life’s all about?"
   After the graduates received their diplomas and threw their caps into the air, "Pomp and Circumstance" kicked back up, the honorees marched back through the center aisle and the parents’ cameras flashed once more. The mood seemed more bittersweet this time around, though, as groups of students tried to hold back tears as they hugged family members and each other.