At the Crossroads

SPARTA-In less than a week, Sparta High School seniors will have already taken final exams, and their focus will shift to graduation and just what it is they plan to do with the rest of their lives. Ceremonies are scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 25, at the high school football field if weather permits. If not, the graduation will move to 7:30 p.m. in the Sussex County Technical School Auditorium. "I'm looking forward to going to college," said senior Lauren Butler, who plans to attend the University of Delaware. "I'm both nervous and excited at the same time because it is a new experience, but I'm definitely looking forward to it." Another graduate, Caitlin Gallo, who plans to attend Penn State University in the fall, said that dealing with school work has become "kind of hectic" over the past few weeks. "You're constantly thinking about the summer and college, which makes it hard to learn anything new," said Gallo. At the same time, both Gallo and Butler said they are not suffering from what students jokingly call "senioritis" n a desire to "slack off" after they have already been accepted to college. "A lot of us are already independent, and it shows," said senior Mary Catherine Lawler while leaving school for one of the last times on Monday. She added that at least 65 students of the class of 2004 have a grade point average of 4.0 or higher. "It's not because the courses are easy, it's just very competitive," she said. Lawler credits her teachers for preparing her to major in biochemistry at Drew University in August. "We have a lot of really good teachers and friends here, and we're really going to miss them," said Gallo.