When Principal Jeanne Crocker woke up Sunday, for once, she didn’t call Channel 6 to get the weather. She looked out the window, checked out Weather.com, waited and finally decided the 233 South Portland graduates would have their outdoor ceremony after all.

After eight years of stormy graduations, Crocker had become a pro at making the call on location. “Every single year since I’ve been principal, it’s been a difficult decision,” said Crocker.

Despite early moments of rain, Crocker was confident the class of 2006 would graduate under sunny skies. “It will be a wonderful, wonderful day,” she said.

Crocker’s confidence paid off Sunday, as onlookers filled the bleachers and spilled over into the chairs placed on the track at George E. Martin Memorial field. By the time the school band played the last note of “Pomp and Circumstance,” blue skies appeared, jackets and sweaters were removed and the class of 2006 had the perfect weather that had eluded South Portland graduations for so long.

Earlier, Chelsea Roy was not quite so hopeful. As she lined up in the gym with the rest of her class, she feared the outdoor ceremony would be brief.

“I’m worried that we’ll sit down, it’ll rain and we’ll all have to move right back inside,” she said.

Some graduates had other fears on their minds. “It’s all kind of scary,” said Megan Phinney. “After today it’s a new beginning. It’s so surreal, it just doesn’t feel like it’s happening. I never thought I’d reach this age.”

Phinney’s feelings of change and new beginnings were the theme of graduation. Four honor essayists read their pieces that all focused on an aspect of change.

Each graduate took the theme and made it his or her own. From Class President David Arnold who invoked ancient Greeks and charged the graduates with helping to change the world, to valedictorian Emily Igo who asked that the class of 2006 “be the turtle.”

Igo chose the saying “the turtle never goes anywhere unless he sticks his neck out” as the center of her essay.

“Be the turtle,” she read. “Stick your necks out as far as you can and see where it leads you.”

Igo advised her classmates to take risks and change their lives. Whether that’s picking up a sport or taking a class that always sounded interesting, Igo believes that’s the key to a happy future.

Salutatorian Kelly Schussler emphasized what Roy said before graduation began. Shussler told her class new beginnings are inevitable after graduation.

“Now that we’re graduating we’re preparing for a large change,” said Schussler. “The problem is, we’ll once again be newcomers to the world. We’ll no longer be the smartest, or the worldliest or think that we know all there is to know about the world.”

While the other honor essayists looked ahead to changes to come, Kelsey Champagne looked back at the changes high school brought.

“I’ve known some of my classmates since before they were starting lacrosse players, star of the musical or president of whatever club,” said Champagne. “It’s amazing to look back and remember.”