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BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduates walk onto the football field at the beginning of the school’s commencement ceremony Friday evening. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News A spectator at the Palatka Junior-Senior High School commencement ceremony cheers enthusiastically for her loved one who walks to his seat. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Palatka Junior-Senior High School's JROTC cadets present colors before people at the commencement listen to the national anthem. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduates hold on to their caps and gowns during a windy commencement ceremony Friday evening. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News A Palatka High graduate looks into the crowd to find her loved ones during the graduation ceremony Friday evening. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News A Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduate listens to one of the speakers at the school's graduation ceremony Friday. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News A Palatka Junior-Senior High School stands to be recognized as a Portrait of a Graduate recipient during the commencement service. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News A Palatka Junior-Senior High School sits after being honored as a Portrait of a Graduate recipient and as an enlistee in the U.S. military. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduate Mara Adams reads an address to her classmates during the school's commencement service Friday. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Palatka Junior-Senior High School graduates prepare to receive their diplomas during Friday's service. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Former Palatka Junior-Senior High School Principal J.T. Stout prepares to hand out diplomas to the graduating class of 2023. -
BRANDON D. OLIVER/Palatka Daily News Graduates and teachers hug each other as the departing seniors prepare to receive their diplomas. -
Positively Putnam FL
Another crop of students – and the former principal – bid farewell during Palatka Junior-Senior High School’s graduation ceremony Friday evening.
The 238 graduating seniors sat through breezy, chilly conditions to celebrate each other and receive advice from the authority figures to which they’ve become accustomed.
Ra’Niyah Clark, the senior class secretary, referred to the class of 2023 as “the last best class” and wished her colleagues well as they go on to additional schooling, the workforce, the military or ever else their paths take them. If people don’t yet know what they want to do in life, she said, it’s OK because there is still time to figure it out
“We’ve accomplished so much, and I’m proud to have been a part of this amazing class,” Clark said. “Let’s continue to have a positive impact on our school, community and the ones around us.”
Also saying goodbye to Palatka High was J.T. Stout, the former principal who resigned earlier this month to be the director of Putnam County’s Public Works Department.
He said he shared the graduates’ excitement about their “new adventure on the horizon,” but he looked back fondly on the time he spent working in the Putnam County School District, especially at Palatka High.
“Working with the youth of Putnam County for the past 22 years has been some of the most gratifying work in my life,” Stout said. “I will treasure my time with you and all of the students, faculty and administrators that I have worked with during this time.”
Stout advised to always show gratitude, use good manners, show up on time – actually, show up early – and stay late if the need arises. The graduates have already exceeded expectations, Stout said, and he wants them to continue that greatness.
But in the quest for greatness, they should remember to be kind to themselves, Stout said.
“Know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You matter,” he said. “When you feel that no one sees you or cares about you, you are wrong. Your family loves you. Your friends love you. And God loves you.”
In her address to her classmates, Mara Adams said the class of 2023 was made up of the most determined, hard-working and diligent people. No matter where they all end up, Adams said, they will always have the skills they picked up at Palatka High.
“I wish you … the best that life holds,” she said. “While we may be leaving and starting our next stage in life, we will always be part of Palatka Junior-Senior High School. I cannot wait to see where all of us end up in life because I know we will make it far.”