Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990 TAG: 9006150540
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACQUELINE JAMES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Principal Alyce Szathmary said Thursday during the graduation ceremony at the Roanoke Civic Center that no other Fleming class in the past decade has received as much money.
City Schools Superintendent Frank Tota congratulated the students for the achievement.
More than 75 percent of the 366 graduates plan to attend college, and the list of choices includes Howard University, Duke, Tuskegee and the University of Virginia.
A flag was dedicated to the senior class, the principal said, to remind the members that they were part of the student body responsible for the school being one of 218 in the nation to receive an award of excellence in education from the U.S. Department of Education.
A song sung during graduation - "We Are The World" - played an additional role: It was Fleming's graduation theme. The singing was led by Nat Hash, Sidney Williams and Frank Proulx, who encouraged guests to join hands and sing along.
Both the class valedictorian, Ann Parker, and salutatorian, Susan Keener, challenged their classmates to meet them in "Emerald City" - the place Dorothy went to get her wish granted in "The Wizard of Oz."
"Life does not simply grant us our wishes. We must make an effort," Parker said. "Anything is possible. . . . Don't be afraid to leave the yellow brick road. Hope to see you in Emerald City."
They compared the adventures they will face as graduates to the fear that Dorothy experienced after leaving Kansas.
"We are surrounded by people who care about us, ready to face something very natural and yet as terrifying as the tornado," Keener said.
Although the ceremony marked the end of their days at Fleming for most of the students, Joe Fields said he plans to return after college.
"Im going to come back to teach physical education," Fields said. "They gave me a lot and I want to give them a lot back."
by CNB