NPHS commencement will be warmly remembered
By Joe Cohen jcohen@theacorn.com

'ATTA GIRL ANDI'--Andrea Rule takes her diploma and walks away from the NPHS graduation ceremony on Friday.

If it seems like an extraordinary number of locals are walking around with sunburns this week, it may be a result of their attending the 90-plus-degree outdoor graduation at Newbury Park High School last Friday.

The 5:30 p.m. ceremony packed both sides of the bleachers. Many seniors waited until the last possible moment to put on their black caps and gowns in an effort to stay cool. But none of that mattered as the state champion award-winning Panther band played the familiar notes of "Pomp and Circumstance" to usher in the more than 500 graduates.

White and yellow flags lined the entrance for the seniors, whose procession was broadcast on a large monitor behind the stage. After the graduates were seated, bagpipes filled the air as the Panther Pipers played 'Scotland the Brave' to the faculty processional.

ASB president and NPHS figurehead Peter McClintock spoke first, thanking the faculty and staff for being the "backbone of the school." The voice of the very popular McClintock had been the first students heard most days as school began. He read the morning bulletin with a confident, distinctive tone, often adding humor by personalizing his greetings with shout-outs.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE-Jaime Lee wipes away tears of happiness while Elizabeth Casale embraces a fellow classmate following the 38th annual commencement at Newbury Park High School's Panther Stadium last Friday. Four-hundred sixty-one seniors graduated in the Class of 2006.

"When we graduate here today, let us not think of this as a final departure, but more of a celebration to carry on the good times in our memories and our hearts," McClintock said. His address concluded with his signature announcement ending: "For the last time, this is Peter McClintock signing off."

Three students-Paul Frank, Andrew Knauer and Adam Jones-represented the 2006 class as valedictorians, having achieved impressive 4.75 cumulative grade point averages.

Paul Frank spoke first. "All of us have recently wrestled with the questions: Where will we study? What will we end up doing? When will we finally get out of our parents' houses?" Frank spoke about how as adults his class will shape the world.

Valedictorian Andrew Knauer told listeners not to take life so seriously. "My teacher Mr. Ellis hung a sign over his classroom clock that said 'NOW' on it a few weeks ago. A few days later he replaced the sign with a 'FICTION' sign and told the class to reflect on his stunt.

Knauer said, "A simple mechanism such as time does not bind us together. We must look to each other and live in the now."

Student speaker Alex Felker pulled out a Disneyland map that he claimed he'd jotted his speech on during grad night the previous evening.

"First and foremost I'd like to thank Red Bull (a popular energy drink) for keeping me going through late-night study sessions and Starbucks for waking me up in the morning," Felker said. He later thanked a second-grade bully for teaching him the lesson of not carrying all of his cash around and to "diversify."

Finally, before the names of the graduating seniors were read, popular English teacher Elwyn Ellis delivered a touching keynote address to the seniors. He praised his creative writing students as the best he's had in more than 20 years of teaching.

"They had the same assignment every day: look in your heart and write," Ellis said. He spoke of a dream that English Department head Rhoda Brown had shared with him that inspired him to write.

The dream was about Ellis attending the senior photos and taking pictures of the class of 2006 on his cellphone. He then wrote down their names and addresses and told the students (in the dream) that "it will cost you." He told them the cellphone represented the unpredictable, the unknown.

"Sometimes what you thought was an interruption (cellphone ringing) turns out to be your life," Ellis said. He concluded by telling the seniors he thinks they've already paid, referring to the time and effort they put in at NPHS. "The past is deep and the future for you will be full of changes and surprises. That's what I live for. Those daily surprises have caused my life to change. You may fall a few times, but miracles do happen. It helps to believe in yourself."