There wasn’t a sporting event on the floor of the Smith Center on Saturday; but throughout the day, the place did echo with plenty of cheering.
Graduation exercises for all three high schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district started at 9 a.m. with Pomp and Circumstance, quickly followed by the East Chapel Hill High School choral ensemble’s gospel-tinged version of Let It Be. Other highlights included Principal Eileen Tully’s musings on life and the slip-’n’-slide constructed on the school lawn as a senior prank. She encouraged graduates to take life slowly and appreciate all of its quirks.
At Chapel Hill High School’s early afternoon commencement, new Principal Jesse Dingle told graduates how proud he was to be their principal. He praised their competitive spirit, but encouraged humility.
“Envy is not competitiveness,†he said.
In the late afternoon, the occasional roll of thunder punctuated the smaller, but equally enthusiastic ceremony for Carrboro High School’s second graduation exercise.
Carrboro Principal Kelly Batten said that while last year’s class will be remembered for a lot of firsts, the Class of 2010 also should be remembered for its key roll in the school’s early history, including the formation of student tutoring and recycling programs.


