Kirsten Whyte gets a hug from her uncle, Gary Munroe, of Barrington, at Barrington High School’s commencement yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

BARRINGTON — It was standing room only in the warm gymnasium of Barrington High School, which moved its commencement indoors yesterday because of skies that threatened but never actually produced an afternoon shower.

The annual wave of blue and white — seniors in their caps and gowns — flowed through the gym to a continuous standing ovation from the crowd. Some mortarboards were decked out with flowers, photos, drawings, and even a Barbie doll reclining as if sunning herself. The graduates blew soap bubbles or tossed a dozen beach balls between speeches.

It was the second graduation-related ceremony in as many days. On Saturday, the seniors had the traditional “Friendship Service,” a shorter, more intimate — but no less formal — ceremony in which the faculty plays a larger role in addressing the students and their well-wishers.

“This class is full of surprises, and personality,” said Stephanie Spaziano, the class adviser, calling the Class of 2008 an “amazing group” blessed with humor, intelligence, creativity and kindness.

It has not been an easy year for this Barrington class. Some of the students have felt as if they’ve been living in a glass house since the death of a classmate in July focused media attention on the problem of underage drinking.

“We have survived through the most intense media scrutiny this town has ever seen. Yet we have persevered,” said Ruchir Shah, one of the state’s two Presidential Scholars this year, both from Barrington High.

“This year, every time we turned around, there was yet another hurdle to overcome or another obstacle to avoid,” said assistant principal Joseph Hurley during the Friendship Service.

“We began this year with the loss of a close friend and we asked ourselves those difficult questions, the ‘whys’ and the ‘what ifs.’ As a community, we learned more than we wanted to about the impact of the media and the power of the Internet, and how important it was to support one another through these difficult and sometimes harsh times. We’ve seen these students mature before our eyes.”

But the overwhelming emphasis Saturday, and especially yesterday, was on the positive, the celebration of a class that had plenty of reasons to hold its head high. As one of yesterday’s graduates, Julia Halloran, said, “We are no strangers to tragedy, but I like to think we are all the more familiar with triumph.”

Shar, who speaks three foreign languages and is learning Chinese, cited the accomplishments of several individual class members and the fact that “our school athletic teams have won more championships than I can count. And tell me, how many other schools in the nation have an Obama Club?”

One of yesterday’s surprises came after the principal, John Gray, announced that the graduates were ready to receive their diplomas. Taylor Millspaugh stood up behind him and flashed a big “Marry me, Mr. Gray” sign. The crowd started laughing, and applauding.

“I don’t think I even want to turn around,” Gray said.

The crowd loved it even more when he did. He smiled and said, “There’s a lady sitting up in my office you’d better talk to about that.”

When the name of the 225th senior was called, Luke Znosko strode to the platform sporting sunglasses, accepted his diploma and proceeded to rip off his gown, leaving wearing sneakers, boxer shorts, and a big “08” marked on his chest.

Social studies teacher Tracy Miller, who spoke at Saturday’s Friendship Service, surveyed the graduates and declared, “In this crowd there is greatness. There are unique qualities you have never seen in people before.”

She advised the graduates to have a passion, be curious, believe in themselves, have integrity, live with compassion and empathy, and be independent.

“The other thing is to believe in things like sunscreen and floss and paying your bills on time, and those things are really true too,” she said.

And she also confessed to the students that she and the other faculty members probably won’t care if they forget the details of photosynthesis or Machiavelli’s traits of leadership. “We care about the choices you make and the people you become.”

gemery@projo.com