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<p>DALLAS &#8212; It&#8217;s no question that the students of the Dallas School District had an eventful year.</p><p>But sitting on the field of Mountaineer Stadium earlier this month, students were able to talk about their final experiences, smile and laugh as more than 200 seniors prepared to walk across the stage as graduates.</p><p>In her opening speech, student council President Madison Hurst spoke of the atypical hurdles the senior class had to overcome during the past year.</p><p>&#8220;This year alone, we had to endure strikemas, Christmas, floodmas and the blizzard of 2017,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve gone through a lot this year to get here. It&#8217;s unbelievable that it&#8217;s only taken 151 days.&#8221;</p><p>Hurst continued by saying that the events the seniors had to endure during the past year &#8212; combined with all other years &#8212; taught the class lessons that extended far beyond academics. She told her peers to remember these lessons, and use the skills they developed in school to prove themselves to those who doubt them along the road to success.</p><p>While students managed to acquire colorful beach balls and gleefully threw them across the field at each other, district Superintendent Thomas Duffy offered his remarks to the graduating class.</p><p>Duffy said that the 2017 wasn&#8217;t &#8220;atypical&#8221; at all. Instead, he chose to highlight all of the accomplishments the class of 2017 and the district had.</p><p>&#8220;It would be easy to frame this monologue around how atypical , how uncharacteristic &#8212; and even historic &#8212; this school year has been,&#8221; he said, citing issues like a gas leak, flooding and, of course, the teachers strike. &#8220;However, after greater reflection, it becomes more apparent in more than a few ways that this year was actually typical, or better.&#8221;</p><p>Duffy went on to say that despite a tumultuous year students met or exceeded their expectations not only academically, but socially and culturally as well. Graduation rates reached 98 percent within the district, and he lauded students for achieving some of the highest SAT scores in Luzerne County. He also noted more than 150 seniors completed advanced placement courses with nearly all passing their senior career curriculum.</p><p>Graduates will enter higher education at more than 40 nationally recognized colleges and universities across the country, he said, and six graduates will go into the military.</p><p>Aside from recognizing the class and all their accomplishments, Duffy also opted to recognize another group during the ceremony: their caregivers.</p><p>Looking to the audience, Duffy asked parents and family members to look back over the last 13 years. From giving final goodbye kisses before boarding the school bus for the first time to making schedules around a slurry of extra-curricular activities, Duffy applauded graduates&#8217; families for the all of work and support they put into helping their children succeed. He then asked the seniors to stand and turn around to thank their caregivers, creating a roar of applause and cheers.</p><p>Class salutatorian Sarah Strazdus and valedictorian Ann Metzloff both addressed their peers bringing messages of lifelong learning and growth. Going back to the days of kindergarten, Strazdus&#8217; theme &#8212; &#8220;life goes on&#8221; &#8212; touched on the many events and scenarios the class had together, calling out particular people, places and events that drew a variety of emotions. From enduring social trends of the time to students from both elementary schools clashing as they became one school in the middle school, she told the class that they pressed through all the challenges they faced over the years &#8212; and life will be no different.</p><p>&#8220;Through all the trials and tribulations that our class has endured over the years, we have continuously been reminded that life goes on,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-6-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"> Jolee Treslar fixes the cap of Paul Zablotney before the start of their graduation ceremony. 
Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-6-1.jpg</photo0><caption0> Jolee Treslar fixes the cap of Paul Zablotney before the start of their graduation ceremony. 
Amanda Hrycyna|For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Julia Evans and Max Gordon congradulate each other. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-5-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Julia Evans and Max Gordon congradulate each other. </caption1><photoCredit1>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sarah Dawn Daly enters the Dallas High School graduation ceremony. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-4-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Sarah Dawn Daly enters the Dallas High School graduation ceremony. </caption2><photoCredit2>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-3-1.jpg</photo3><caption3></caption3><photoCredit3>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Members of the Dallas graduating class throw their hats in the air. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-2-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Members of the Dallas graduating class throw their hats in the air. </caption4><photoCredit4>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Maureen Oremus hugs her daughter Riley Samantha Oremus after presenting her with her diploma at Dallas High School&#8217;s graduation ceremony at the school&#8217;s football field earlier this month. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_ttl061117dallasgrad-1-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Maureen Oremus hugs her daughter Riley Samantha Oremus after presenting her with her diploma at Dallas High School&#8217;s graduation ceremony at the school&#8217;s football field earlier this month. </caption5><photoCredit5>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom can be reached at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas High School graduation: A typical year actually pretty good