DISHS graduation unlike any before

With never more than 50 people at a time at the ceremony

-  LESLIE LANDRIGAN

DEER ISLE—In a graduation ceremony unlike any before, High School Principal Dennis Duquette had to pause to regain his composure as he told the graduates how much they meant to him.

The 26 Deer Isle-Stonington High School graduates sitting six feet apart were practically the only other people in the gym. A few staff members were there to disinfect the lectern, to usher small family groups in and out and to stream the proceedings on Facebook. Duquette’s little dog Murphy, oblivious to pandemic restrictions, trotted around the newly refinished gym floor during the ceremony.

From a lectern, Duquette faced the students. “You are smart, athletic, dreamers, you’re hard-working, funny, sometimes funny-looking and very, very, very unique,” he said.