A record 255 graduates participated in Avon High School’s 86th commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon in front of an overflowing gymnasium of friends and family.

Avon Principal Dr.Chad Coffman addressed the graduates and saluted those who have had an instrumental role in the success of each and every one of them.

“Commencement is a time of celebration.  For 13 years you have been nurtured and challenged by your teachers and your parents,” he said. “All of your teachers, from grades K through 12 have played an instrumental role during your presence here today,” he added.

With this year’s theme of “Change”, valedictorians Stephen Newbury Bowen II, Alex James MacLaren Lawrence, and Kirtana Ramadugu each recited to their fellow students and friends their own meaning of change and what the future has in store for each and every one of them. 

During his speech, Bowen suggested that, with a record number of graduates, and a promising future for Avon High, faculty and staff may need to look into a more accommodating space for 2012 by changing the ceremony to a bigger facility. Bowen’s final request for those to follow in the class of 2011’s footsteps was received well by cheers and laughter from the crowd.