Class Dismissed

Senior class President Bluesette Palmoutsos was wrapped tightly in her mother’s arms, absorbing a well-deserved hug Thursday after leading her fellow Ventura High graduates through a ceremony aimed at nudging them over the threshold of adulthood.

Minutes earlier, she had instructed her classmates to flip their tassels from the left side to the right and had led them in a rendition of the school song, prompting the 360 seniors to thrust victory signs into the air.

And she had been among the first to fling her mortarboard into the sky, touching off a blur of black and gold caps tossed toward the heavens.

But now came the most heartfelt reward, a hug from her mother and good words about how proud she was of her 17-year-old daughter.

“We’ve enjoyed being part of her whole school experience here,” said Alicia Palmoutsos, joining hundreds of other family members and friends seeking out graduates at the Ventura High football stadium. “It’s a very short time and it comes and goes before you know it. But she exceeded all my expectations.”

With the school year ending, seniors across Ventura County are accepting diplomas and preparing for life outside the protective womb of high school campuses.

Thursday also saw graduation ceremonies at Buena High in Ventura, and at high schools in Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Fillmore and Moorpark.

At the Moorpark High football stadium, 300 seniors assembled before a capacity crowd, led by valedictorian Michael Liu. Hours earlier, the Class of ’98 had practiced filing into the stadium in the rain. But by Thursday evening, the skies had cleared and the seniors were in high spirits.

“This class accomplished more than any other class in the history of this school,” said Principal John McIntosh, drawing a large cheer from the graduates.

At Sheridan Way School in Ventura, no one was cheering. In fact, Principal Trudy Arriaga spent the last day of school consoling students and parents upset that she won’t be returning next year.

“We’re losing a great person here,” said parent Susan Rutland, her boys Cody and Ethan at her side. Like everyone else in line, Rutland was trying not to cry, but losing that battle.

The popular elementary school principal is leaving to become principal at Pacific High School, Ventura’s campus for continuing education.

The end of the school year is hard enough for students and teachers. But Arriaga’s departure from the place that has been her second home for the past eight years tapped a deep well of emotion.

Parents and students stood in line to say goodbye, snapping her photo or asking her to sign yearbooks. Many students gave her gifts and nearly every youngster gave her a hug. It was enough to make a veteran principal cry.

“I leave with just incredible, incredible sadness,” said Arriaga, 42. “This is my home, my family. It’s an incredible place to be part of and it has been my honor and my privilege.”

Balboa Middle School’s Jim Darling is also leaving, but not for another job. After 35 years with the Ventura district, the 57-year-old math teacher is retiring. Darling, whose leg was amputated nearly a decade ago after a battle with cancer, says he is leaving while he is still in good health.

His departure caused youngsters to compete for the honor of being the last student to walk out with him.

With so much at stake, he decided to hold an essay contest. His wife, Rita, a teacher at Ventura High, judged the entries. The winner was seventh-grader Jessica Reed, who wrote that she would always remember walking out with her favorite teacher on the last day of school.

“I’ve never not gone to school in September,” said Darling, who started his teaching career at De Anza Middle School in west Ventura. “Of course I’m going to miss it. I’ve had great classes and great people to work with.”

It sounded a lot like what the seniors were saying as they lined up to march into the stadium at Ventura High School. It was as if they finally realized the countdown was over, that in less than an hour they would be thrust into the next phase of their lives.

“Some of the best times and some of the worst times of my life were at this high school,” said 17-year-old Andrew Pinkstaff, wearing dark black wraparound sunglasses that matched the color of his robe.

He said he is headed to Ventura College next year and hopes to eventually attend UC Davis.

“I didn’t even think about this most of the year,” he said of graduation, the 109th ceremony for Ventura High. “And now it’s here and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is not good at all.’ ”

Across town at Buena High, mother Rese Davison could relate. Her 17-year-old twin daughters, Stefanie and Stacie, picked up diplomas Thursday from her alma mater.

The girls are honor students also headed to Ventura College for a couple of years.

“It seems like just yesterday they were in kindergarten,” said Davison, bellowing to get her daughters’ attention and crying as they headed to their seats in the school’s quad.

“I’m just so proud I can’t hold it in,” she said. “They’re twins so I have to yell twice as loud and cry twice as hard.”

The nearly 500 Buena graduates were a spirited bunch. They tossed around beach balls and tortillas, blew bubbles and shot silly string into the air. Such items were supposed to be outlawed, but the seniors sneaked them in under their gowns.

But despite the lightheartedness, the seniors knew they had reached the end of one path and were just starting to embark on another.

“Now it’s time to take what we’ve learned about ourselves over the past four years,” graduate Dan Cardozo said, “and go find our place in the world.”

Times correspondent Brenda Loree contributed to this story.