Moniteau high school seniors graduate
CHERRY TWP — Before shaking his hand, Moniteau Jr./Sr. High School Class President Kameron Hershey walked across the graduation stage Friday, June 5, handed principal Lance Fox an empty fish bowl and then received his diploma.
Each student after Hershey added an additional pebble to the bowl as they walked until the last of the 79 graduates, Zane Zanella, handed Fox a fish.
The fish was the class’s school-approved senior prank.
“We decided we weren’t gonna, kind of, do the norm,” Hershey said. “We decided the fish bowl, giving our principal a new pet, was going to be the way to go this year.”
He added the class went with a fish, because it wanted Fox to keep it alive as long as possible.
The prank was just one moment of levity and celebration from this year’s graduating class.
Walking in the school’s auditorium to the usual cadence of “Pomp and Circumstance,” crowd members cheered as they saw the seniors they knew enter.
Community support and anticipation for the future underscored the night.
“It's a great class and a lot of great kids,” chemistry and physics teacher Charlie “Chaz” Neff said. “I’m anxious to see them end this chapter and start their next chapter.”
From 1st to 12th grade, family consumer science teacher Kim Stoughton has taught several of the graduating seniors throughout their time in the district.
“Just to see them get their diplomas, to see that they succeeded,” she said. “To see where they started and where they end up. It’s really an honor to do that.”
Stoughton is set to retire this school year after working 21 years with the district.
“For them, it’s a new beginning,” she said. “They’re graduate. I’m retiring ... We’re venturing out on different paths but it’s still an adventure.”
Senior Jeremiah Donaldson said the night was a “stepping stone into the future.” Seniors Zane Rott and River Gavinski commented on the feeling this was the end of an era as the begin moving on from the people they grew up with.
“This isn’t the end. This is just the start,” salutatorian Taylor Grace said during her speech. “Always remember your roots at a small school in the middle of nowhere.”
Students’ future plans range from joining the workforce to entering the military to working toward degrees in higher education.
“We were very a well-rounded class, academically, sports-wise,” Hershey said. “This is, I think, one of the best classes to get through Moniteau ever, in my opinion.”
