It was a day four years in the making, as parents and friends gathered together for one last hurrah on the seniors' home field.

Pockets of well wishers clapped and cheered as the graduates were called up to receive recognition for having completed the rite of passage known as high school.

But they've had to endure some dust and hammering as they made their way through their senior year. "We've been sort of the guinea pig class," said Sharanya Kumaravel, who gave a speech at the ceremony. "There has been lots of construction and constant changes to the campus while we were going through school."

"This has been a unique class," said Assistant Principal Brad Methene. "They were very much united, there were not a lot of factions."

Both joy and sadness filled the air, and a sense of lasting kinship settled through the crowd of these 565 seniors while they watched their friends receive their diplomas.

"It's almost surreal," said senior Ida Soleimani. "We've been looking forward to it all year, but it hasn't hit me yet."

Methene said he was pleased with the way the event played out.

"It was a nice, traditional graduation," he said. "It went off without a hitch."

The ceremony drew to a close, but the celebration was far from over. At around 8:30 p.m., the students began to line up for their "senior all-night party."

The tradition has been running about 15 years and is put on largely through the effort of parents. The purpose of the party, which spreads throughout the campus, is to help graduates celebrate in a safe but exciting place.

"These are all great kids," said Marshall Goldman, co-chairman of the program. "They deserve a place where there are no drugs or alcohol, and the parents have transformed the campus into a fantasy land."

Goldman was especially excited about this particular party, because his son was one of the graduates.

This year's theme was "California Dreamin' " and featured replica exhibits of different monuments in California.

As students entered through the "Golden Gate Bridge" they encountered a miniature version of Disneyland's Castle, Monta Vista Studios—a play on Universal Studios—and a grand ballroom full of attractions such as a casino, nail and hair salons, movies, games, a dance studio and plenty of food.

"We've been working to create this all year," said Carol Descamp, whose son John graduated this year.

"The school was very supportive, and everyone felt it was important to have it on campus," said Goldman. "In the future the students may not remember everything about high school, but they will remember this."

During the night, the graduates scooted around on bumper cars and danced. They reminisced about high school years and good times with old friends, and in the process formed a strong memory of their final adieu to the place that had been like a second home for the past four years of their lives.