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FORT PLAIN - As a parting gift, most of the Fort Plain Junior/Senior High School graduating class members put district Superintendent Douglas Burton in danger of losing his marbles.

One by one, as the district's 59 graduates received their diplomas from outgoing Board of Education Second Vice President Amy Sammons and President David Fredericks, a vast majority switched the hand they were holding the maroon envelope with and dropped a marble into Burton's hand for him to put in his pocket.

"He now has 60 marbles in his pocket," senior Justin Smith said. "They're small but heavy enough that he knows they're there."

The students also made several other presentations as they honored class advisers Nancy Wilder and Laurie Capece, biology teacher and coach Jay Jarabek, band teacher Peter DiBiase and athletic director Charlie Karker.

Then, after all the diplomas were handed out and senior class president Jennette Webb led her classmates in flipping their tassles from left to right, and explosion of party string blanketed the stage and the 59 graduates.

However, before they left, saludatorian John Resch touched on three subjects. The first one was learning how to eat frogs, which was a metaphor for doing the things you don't want to do first thing in the morning.

"We don't literally need to eat frogs," Resch said, taking his three subjects from a talk given by Union College hockey coach Nate Leaman.

The second subject was for the graduating class to develop it's talent and third was have a good attitude.

After thanking the district's teachers and parents, his final thanks went to his classmates.

"You made coming to school every day for the past 12 years - 14 counting preschool - worth it., with all of the jokes, the laughs, the funny stories and the serious conversations, good times all in all," Resch said.

Both Resch and valedictorian Kristen Wolfe urged their classmates to heed the words of the class theme song, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."

"As you walk away from graduation, always remember, be true to yourself, go for our dreams with everything you've got and don't be afraid to find your purpose to make a difference in this world," Wolfe said.

She told her classmates to remember that because there might be a pop quiz at the class' 10-year reunion.