Cape Elizabeth’s 2009 graduating class is “one of the most sincere and nicest classes to ever graduate from Cape Elizabeth High School.”

That’s how Cape Elizabeth Principal Jeffrey Shed described the 149 seniors who graduated Sunday afternoon.

“You have been truly a delightful class,” Shed told the packed crowd in the high school’s gymnasium. “Your class will be marked with kindness that encapsulates your spirit.”

Shed specifically spoke of the seniors’ gift to their class adviser, Joan Moriarty. Last week they gave her a puppy. Moriarty’s dog, Charlie, died in October and she had been looking for another since then.

“That kind of gift encapsulates all that is good in your class,” Shed said.

Speakers reminded the Cape graduates to “grasp” their futures while remembering their hometown of Cape Elizabeth.

“The rest of the country can speculate as to whether we have running water up here in Maine, but we know that we not only have basic amenities, we even have a pretty incredible school,” said Valedictorian Michael Taintor, who will attend Georgetown University next fall.

“Everyone here has a great chance to be successful as we graduate today … Maybe our class is just that good.”

Rain may have forced Sunday’s ceremony away from Fort Williams Park to the high school, but it didn’t dampen the graduates’ moods as they received their honors and thought about the days and years to come.

“It’s always nice to have it outdoors, but it doesn’t take away from this day for us,” said Joe Wolanski, who will study bio-medical engineering at the University of Connecticut with the hope of becoming a doctor.

Wolanski’s classmates echoed his sentiments and reflected upon the advice they were given throughout the afternoon.

“This day is special and exciting,” said Shannon Rhys, who will attend Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., and study foreign languages. “When I look back at high school, I think it did prepare me more for what’s to come.”

Shed spent some time recognizing people who came before this class, especially veterans of foreign wars. As he asked members of the audience who had served in the armed forces to stand, he took a moment to recognize two 2009 class members, Joe McKenzie and Stephanie Lawsure, who will join the Air Force and Marines respectively.

“It’s not inappropriate to ask these two students to stand and be recognized,” Shed said.

Another graduate, Niall Belcher, will study international business as Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “I would eventually like to go into the Coast Guard,” Belcher said. “I want to serve my country and uphold freedom.”

Alyssa Hilse said she looks forward to attending Longwood University in Virginia. “I hope to become a special education teacher,” Hilse said. “I’ve always wanted to work with kids with special needs.”

Regardless of what the graduates have planned, Taintor advised them to hold onto their roots while branching out into the world.

“The world outside the Cape Elizabeth bubble is big and can be intimidating,” Taintor said. “By the time we graduates disperse in the fall, and maybe by the time we get out of here today, most of you will have forgotten my wisdom about the future and will think mostly of PacMan when you recall graduation speeches.

“But a decade or two from now, if we each take a moment to consider our place in the world, I’m sure we will realize that we are not just running from ghosts that will inevitably get us all, we will have made a difference and we will all owe some of it to Cape Elizabeth.”