Suffield’s Class of 2010’s big day came last week on a hot and sunny Saturday morning. As parents and family gathered outside on the turf field emblazoned with the Wildcats ensignia, the seniors were gathering inside.

Graduating more than 200 students, the Class of 2010 had 35 students in the National Honor Society, four students in the Latin Honor Society, 15 students in the Spanish Honor Society and four students in the French Honor Society.

The Class of 2010 is bragging about 180 students who will be attending 79 different colleges, some local, some not. Three students will be entering the military. According to Vice Principal Ed Garvey’s speech, 60 percent of the class participated in at least one sport and 85 percent of the class participated in at least one club or activity. They also participated in 15 NCCC championships in different sports and three state championships. Garvey was especially proud of them for "answering the call" to community service, for which members of the Class of 2010 read to students at Spaulding Elementary and raised money for Haiti’s earthquake and hurricane Katrina survivors.

As salutatorian Ralle Rooke got up to make his speech, he said, "We have all faced different challenges, but they bring us to this point in our lives today." He went on to tell the story about how he worked so hard to recover from a broken leg so that he could continue his passion for racing. But, he recalled, eight weeks ago he broke his collar bones and had to re-evaluate whether it was worth that sort of pain. "It’s time to move on… the only way to find the edge may be to go over it," he said.,/p>

Valedictorian Nicole Picard recalled memories, saying, "Together we have…diversity, volleyball marathons, aced and bombed tests, gotten into trouble, but, most importantly, we have learned."