Miss-Delectable
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The Frederick News-Post Online - Frederick County Maryland Daily Newspaper
The Maryland School for the Deaf's 141st senior high school class commencement early Saturday afternoon had 34 graduates.
This is the first class that had to pass all the state-mandated requirements for graduation, Principal Melinda Padden said through an interpreter. "That puts them on the same playing field as everyone else. This is an amazing class."
During the opening procession, students clasped hands as they crisscrossed past each other in the lobby of the Ely Building Auditorium.
MSD Superintendent James E. Tucker praised their academic achievements during his greeting.
"Your scores were higher than the average scores of schools in the state of Maryland," he said through an interpreter. "I wonder what the campus will be like next year without you."
The student speaker, Lauren Benedict, an athlete and scholar, said she will miss the campus. "We know everyone here from janitors to the principal. That's going to be hard to leave."
Stephanie Kurth's song in American Sign Language, "Because You Loved Me," by Celine Dion, gave the school's management associate, Amelia Pro, goosebumps, Pro said.
Kurth performed along with the song on the auditorium stage. Her hands danced and flowed with the taped music. Her whole body glided with the melody. She ended seated, her hands folded in her lap.
Kurth's father, Bob Kurth, said his daughter has a 70 percent hearing loss.
"She's been living in the dorms on campus," he said. "She really loves it here."
The Maryland School for the Deaf's 141st senior high school class commencement early Saturday afternoon had 34 graduates.
This is the first class that had to pass all the state-mandated requirements for graduation, Principal Melinda Padden said through an interpreter. "That puts them on the same playing field as everyone else. This is an amazing class."
During the opening procession, students clasped hands as they crisscrossed past each other in the lobby of the Ely Building Auditorium.
MSD Superintendent James E. Tucker praised their academic achievements during his greeting.
"Your scores were higher than the average scores of schools in the state of Maryland," he said through an interpreter. "I wonder what the campus will be like next year without you."
The student speaker, Lauren Benedict, an athlete and scholar, said she will miss the campus. "We know everyone here from janitors to the principal. That's going to be hard to leave."
Stephanie Kurth's song in American Sign Language, "Because You Loved Me," by Celine Dion, gave the school's management associate, Amelia Pro, goosebumps, Pro said.
Kurth performed along with the song on the auditorium stage. Her hands danced and flowed with the taped music. Her whole body glided with the melody. She ended seated, her hands folded in her lap.
Kurth's father, Bob Kurth, said his daughter has a 70 percent hearing loss.
"She's been living in the dorms on campus," he said. "She really loves it here."
