The Skyline High School Class of 2011 Brings Sea of Green to Graduation Ceremony at Safeco Field

On Friday night, a sea of green filled Safeco Field, as the  Class of 2011 descended from the Sammamish Plateau for a graduation ceremony in Seattle.

At one moment, Principal Lisa Hechtman ticked off a list of accomplishments and asked the seniors to stand when the description applied to them. She talked about acting with honor and integrity.

The students paused for a bit. Her eyes became rounder. Then, in their caps and gowns - that sea of green - they stood.

"Thank you for not letting me down on that one," Hechtman said, as she smiled and the audience of relatives and friends chuckled.

The Spartans from Skyline celebrated their rite of academic passage in style with Hechtman formally introducing the Class of 2011. "We have great expectations for you," she said.

In his role as the Issaquah School Board representative, Chad Magendanz accepted them as graduates. In total, there were more than 400 of them.

In his talk, he discussed the ideas of risk, failure and learning and how young people will likely encounter all three in the next steps of their lives.

"We grow more from our failures than our successes," he said, stressing that adversity can be a teacher.

Valedictorian Amy Fan reminded her classmates about how their identities would no longer be tied to a high school on the Sammamish Plateau. Instead, she said, they all have opportunities to learn new lessons and pursue new goals.

And when Hechtman went through her list of accomplishments, there were many. They included: Students who received high academic honors, those who are athletic, ones who participated in student activities and others who made music.

There also were students who completed community service hours, ones who participated in a and those who became Eagle Scouts.

In the end, scores of students stood in Safeco Field to be recognized.

Editor's note: At the graduation ceremony, teacher Brendan Hyland, an elected speaker, offered wise words to the students. He did so in the form of a rap.