Burris then got the audience laughing as she told her students they would always be remembered as the class who graduated the same year as Justin Bieber.

“Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of a fire,” she said. “I hope South Side has lit that fire.”

Burris recognized the teachers, guidance counselors and Board of Education members assembled on stage. She singled out the ceremony’s music director, Gene Kaplan, one of many longtime, beloved teachers who is retiring this year.

The graduates were then called up to the stage one by one, where they received their diplomas, along with congratulations from Mayor Francis Murray, Trustee Ed Oppenheimer and Village Justices William Croutier and Kevin McDonough.

The ceremony closed with a video of the class backed by the song “For Good” from the play “Wicked.” Class President Taylor Schwarting offered closing remarks, and then invited her colleagues to turn their tassels to the left and toss their caps to the rafters.

“Don’t wait for someone to tell you your life has started,” Schwarting said.

Class of 2012

Maria Abbruzzese

Brittany Abrams

Katelyn Abrams

Karina Abreo

Alyssa Zoe Adler

Robert Akeson

Erik Albertsen

Bryce Allen

Wilfred Almonte

Rachel Altman

Katherine Arana

Hayley Armstrong

Noelle Armstrong

Alyssa Marie Aydinoglu

Christopher Babicke

Allison Bannon

Nicole Anne Barci

Alison Bartoldus

Brian T. Beaudet

Deirdre Claire Bednar

Danielle C. Bellando

Brian Berger

Mark Bevilacqua

Julie Caroline Beyar

Cesar Bisono

Nohely Bisono

Madison Bondy

Ian J. Bowen

Jarret Brown

Kendra Bruce

Nicholas Frank Bruno

Larklin F Bryan

Lauren Bryn

Leah Witte Buchman

Shannon Buckley

Jabria Burroughs

Mone’ J. Bush

Hannah Tori Byrne

Nathaniel Cabrera

Christian Camarillo

Casey Cameron

Elvin Cardenales

Kevin Cardenales

Kelly Carman

Cristina Carter

Sofia E. Cartusciello

Alexa Casavecchia

Ricardo Castillo

Brian D. Caulfield

Sabahudin Cecunjanin

Valeria Chacon

Daniel Chelius

Mark P. Chen

Peter Michael Clark

Kirstie Coico

Jandy Collado

Marlenny Collado

Anne Colletta

Christian F. Colletti

Joseph Cona

Marguerite Anne Connolly

Matthew Connolly

James Conway

Kevin Cook

Rebecca Cooper

Nicole Marie Copertino

Kevin John Coyle

Daniel L. Cracovaner

Nicole Cronley

Sean Culkin

Megan Michelle Dacek

Michael T. D’Angelo

Henry Joseph Davoli

Victoria DeFina

Zachary Edmund Derkatch

Peri Michelle Dikman

Matthew F. DiPerna

Kelly Dolin

Jane Dragovich

Dimitri Drakopoulos

Todd A. Drucker

Patrel Duncan

Emily Essig

Marisa Rose Fabiani

Katelyn Fagan

Fahrbach Donald

Brendan Higgins Farrell

Benjamin Felderstein

Craig Michael Felson

Taylor Ferguson

Markys Fernandez

Samantha Ford

Kianna Francois

Loren Hope Fusco

Erin Gabriel

Timothy Gangadeen

Alexandra Garibaldi

Gillian Geffen

James Matthew Gemino

Luis Genao

Olivia Rose Gerrato

Laura Geyer

Corey Glass

Edward Gleason

Evan Glickman

Kendall Mary Gough

Keriann Patricia Grandazza

Omari Greene

Erin Griffin

Michael John Gutman

Luke Joseph Hahn

Robert Halley

Mark Thomas Hamilton

Christopher Harkins

Grace Healey

Jessica Ann Heckman

Rebecca Heins

Edward Henn

Joshua P. Herman

Samara H. Herman

Joshua K. Hewitt

Colin Hinton

Jessica Hollis

Jae Isaac Holod

Dylan Horcher

Alex Logan Horowitz

Courtney Hunter

Brendan S. Jackson

MyAsia Jackson

Julie Jansen

Jasmine Nicole Johnson

Daquan Johnson

Lauren Christen Joyce

Alexi Maria Kakis

Nicholas Kalafatis

Nolan Francis Kelly

Rebecca Kelly

Sean Kenny

James Kerr

Max Kimmel

Crystal King-Charles

Jodie Melissa Kitain

Andrew Korman

Taylor M. Kosakoff

Marina Kotzavekiaris

George Harold Kowalski III

Lisa Kremen

Rene Lainez

Kelly Nicole Lange

Tre’ LaPersonerie

Jesse Laufer

Louis Peter Laupheimer

Emily A. Lawless

Paul Lawrence

Matthew Leach

Nolan LeBlanc

Rodrigue Liberte

Magdeline Liranzo

Gabrielle Loccisano

Amanda Loesch

Antonio S. Loureiro

Paige A. Lucas

Erin Lynch

Mackenzie Lynch

Kayleen Rose Malizia

Kelly Marco

Zachary Scott Marino

Storm Marshall

Danielle Rose Martello

Elfy Matias Rosario

Alexander B. Matos

Jacqueline Maughan

Madeleine Lea McGowan

Margaret Mary McGowan

Erin J. McNulty

Felicia McPherson

Dylan Meehan

Ty Melillo

Kelsey Messina

Giancarlo Michnovicz

Christian Montalvo

Capreece Moore

William Moore

Moises Mora

Rose Muldoon

Caitlyn Mullooly

Lauren Murray

Anthony Musacchio

Michael John Neira

William Nelson

Kasey Ng

Darren Nickelson Jr

Joseph Nizich

Leandro Ochoa

Kathryn O’Leary

Christina Alisa Ortiz

Crystal Osorio

Joseph Palandrani

Raquel Palmas

Emily Ann Passarelli

Bianca Marie Peralta

Asia Peterson

Lanna C. Phifer

Robert Picchioni

Steven Pirani

Kyle D. Polinsky

Chelsea M. Portenoy

Courtney Quaresima

Ethan Quinn

Michael Rafferty

Delvis Ramirez

Miguelina Ramirez

Jenna Randazzo

Brian Remy

Margaret Reynolds

Justin Rhodes

Sarah Richman

James Rivera

Andrew James Rizzuto

Aneudis Rodriguez

Yennys Rodriguez

Alexandra Rohrs

Carly Roman

Donovan Roth

Sarah Rubenfeld

Jasmine Ruiz

Cathryn Nicole Ryan

James Robert Ryan

Nathaniel Sample

Edison F. Sandoval II

Zachery Scaduto

Emily Shana Schnee

Lily B. Schoen

Christie Schuerlein

Michael Schuermann

Taylor Schwarting

Lauren Ilene Schwartz

James Scott

Matthew Scotto

Benjamin T. Sellitto

Benjamin Shanley

Hannah Slavin

Michael Sotack

Erin Southwick

Ryan James Spadaford

Dana J. Stuono

Ryan Scott Sullivan

Nicholas R. Suss

Sebastian Sussman

Ryan Patrick Talty

Nicole Testa

Liam John Tonno

Carlos Torres

Vincent Tyers

Esmeyry Vargas Estevez

Nicole Villalon

Daniel Villandre

Alison Volkert

Caitlin E. Wallace

Julia Walsh

Andrew Weber

Charles Jon Weigell

Justin Moon Nader Wong

Connor Martin Wulff

Angela Yamamoto

Chaniqua Yarboro

Dana Yberg

Timothy Zaremba

Veronica M. Zavala

Cheng Zeng

Stephanie Ziegler