SILVER SPRINGS - Principal Patrick Peters choked up when talking about Silver Stage High School's class of 2009 before graduation Thursday night.
"They're really good kids," he said. "I love them."
Part of the reason they're so close, he said, is the size of the school that opened its door seven years ago. The school, which combines students from both Silver Springs and Stagecoach, graduated 70 seniors.
Brittany Gibson, 17, moved to the area three years ago from Minnesota. At first, she said, she was taken aback by the scenery as well as by the school.
But it didn't take her long to adjust.
"The teachers and the principals and all the people at this school are really welcoming," she said.
She plans to pursue a nursing degree at Western Nevada College.
"I'm excited and nervous," she said. "We're stepping out into the big world."
Shelby Spoon, 17, said he's ready for the "big world," with plans to join the Army.
"I'm ready for school to be over," he said. "I'm so sick of finals."
But James Irvin, 18, who reports for basic training in the middle of June, isn't quite as ready.
"I have to cram three months of summer into two weeks," he said. "I want school to be over, but I'm not ready for what's coming next."
One of the school's salutatorians Jessica Weaver said she was happy to have attended the high school.
"It's an amazing school," she said. "I could never ask for more."
She plans to attend the University of Nevada, Reno, with a major in neuroscience. She said she feels well-prepared for her
future.
"This school did a good job at teaching us not only school stuff but life stuff," she said.