Graduations

This June was a very busy month for graduations -- Cate graduating at Dana Hall, Ethan graduating at Andover, and Lydia graduating at Diamond. Assorted photos follow.

From Cate's graduation -- she and her classmates gathered before the main procession:

The proud parents:

... along with grandparents and other admirers

Cate is actually in this picture, near the middle of the gang

On stage:

After finishing up at Dana Hall, we hopped in the car and drove up to Andover to catch Ethan's orchestra concert. Some photos from that:

We had dinner at Andover in the dining hall, then peeled off into various groups -- Amy and I stayed at Andover for Ethan's baccalaureate service (tickets were in very short supply, so it was just immediate family).

Photos from Ethan's graduation the next day:

Ethan with his friends Tom and Michaela:

The procession for the ceremony was headed up by a bunch of bagpipers (clan: McFerson), a rather motley crew:

I liked this scene:

Honor roll students standing for an accolade:

After the main ceremony all of the kids form a huge circle out on the great lawn, then the diplomas are given out and passed along the circle from hand to hand until they arrive at the right student.

Panorama shot:

Once everyone has their diploma, there Blue Key students (cheerleaders) head into the center and lead a cheer, then with a big roar, everyone in the student body runs into the center to form a big mosh pit of hugs, high fives, etc. If you look carefully in this photo you can see one poor guy on crutches who was making his way in (he looked pretty determined-- he was definitely not going to be missing any of the fun):

With friends:

Ethan's friend Cem with his dad and sister:

Ethan with his friend Charles:

After that it was off to Scott and Lucy's for a part in honor of Cate and Ethan.

Ahoy, a cake! With very realistically rendered seals:

Everyone is looking a bit more relaxed...

More pictures! This one is from Lydia's choir concert the following day:

and then a couple of weeks later it was Lydia's 8th grade graduation at Diamond. My dad and Joanie drove out from Tyringham to attend, and also to collect Lydia for a trip to New York the following day.

My camera is pretty much rubbish for these sorts of long-distance shots, but here are a couple of Lydia walking across the stage:

Couple of photos from the reception afterwards:

Congrats to all of the kids -- lots to be proud of there.