Graduation Preview: Presenting the Class of 2010

Graduation season is about to descend upon all of us—it's really already started, in fact—and here's a little preview to get you ready for all the festivities.

The Chatham High School senior class already had its awards ceremony and picnic two weeks ago. Seniors then went to the prom last Friday night.

Students are now in the midst of taking finals. Their final day of school is Tuesday.

Before that, though, there will be a high school baccalaurate ceremony at St. Patrick's Church at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Graduation will then be held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on the fields behind the high school (if it rains, it will be moved to the A/B gymnasium).

The ceremony will begin with a musical prelude, perfrormed by a combination of bands. "American Riversong" by Pierre La Plante will be played. Soon afterward, the Class of '10 will walk down the aisle to Elgar's ubiquitous "Pomp and Circumstance." The school's administrators and faculty and the district's Board of Education will precede the students.

Salutatorian Karen Ren will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and the select choir will sing the national anthem and the school's alma mater.

Valedictorian Cameron White will address his class, and the 2010 distinguished teacher will be recognized. Soon afterward, administrators will make a presentation to the class, and diplomas will eventually be handed out.

Board of Education President Steve Barna will confer graduation upon the seniors.

Students will leave the area to "Billboard March" by John Klohr.

A reception will follow, but the night doesn't end there for the seniors. They will board a bus to a boat, which will whisk them around Manhattan throughout the night for their Project Graduation party.

We'll be covering a lot of these events, but we need your help. Send in your pics to zach@patch.com and I'll put them on the site. They can be from graduation parties, Project Graduation, the actual ceremony, a family gathering beforehand—whatever you feel is best. It really doesn't matter. We just want to highlight the graduation Class of '10 as best we can.

Stay tuned in the coming days for a detailed map of where seniors are heading off to college next year.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the graduation ceremony's location.