MORAN The Marmaton Valley Class of 2018 was large, successful and very naughty.
For a long time, our class had a bad reputation. We were a big class with a lot of personality, Clara Boyd, one of four valedictorians at commencement exercises in Moran Saturday evening, told those who gathered to witness the rite of passage.
Boyd shared her valedictory speech with Isabelle Bigelow. Valedictorians Will Holeman and Emily Smart gave a separate speech, as did salutatorian Genna Mitchell.
Boyd and Bigelows speech traced the class from kindergarten through high school, recounting numerous hijinks along the way. Some of them, as Boyd said, were borderline violent.
The chaos began in kindergarten, when a certain boy went all the way to the superintendents office for kicking a girl in the head, Boyd said. She had a goose egg for weeks and he was lucky enough to earn kindergarten out-of-school suspension.
Bigelow arrived at Marmaton Valley in second grade: I missed the head-kicking but I was still around for most of the action.
Because the Class of 2018, with its 25 members, was larger than most at MVHS, students were split into two classes throughout elementary school. Bigelow recalled the time in fourth grade when they tortured a substitute teacher. Though the teacher in the class next door quickly put a stop to it, the damage was done.
Lets just say the substitute never came back despite our 100 percent sincere apologies, Bigelow said.
Things didnt improve in junior high, Boyd recalled. Many incidents are not school appropriate. The teachers dreaded us.
Their constant trouble-making often earned them extra running laps and other exercise as punishment. We were fit junior high kids, Boyd said.
But everything changed in high school, Bigelow recalled. Perhaps the incoming class was intimidated by the older kids. Or perhaps, she said, hormones played a more significant role. Four couples started dating between freshman and sophomore year.
So, basically, one third of our class was dating each other, Bigelow said.
Perhaps in order to impress their new partners, the rambunctious boys began to put more effort into their schoolwork and reputation. Soon, the entire class became settled and focused. By the time Saturdays commencement ceremony rolled around, the class had a 100 percent graduation rate, $159,350 worth of scholarships and four valedictorians.
We are hardworking and determined, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds, Boyd said as she ended the speech, followed by brief comments from Principal Kim Ensminger.
Theres a lot of truth in what theyve shared tonight, Ensminger said, eliciting laughter from the audience.
In addition to Boyd and Bigelows speech, Holeman and Smart also shared stories about their high school experience. They talked of adventures in FFA, science class and sports.
