Forest Gump and a notorious pep rally were part of the farewell celebration as Old Rochester Regional High School graduated its 50th class on the football field.

“Graduates, I know this has been an amazing 13-year odyssey that is culminating today,” said Superintendent Doug White at the Saturday, June 9 ceremony. “A new journey will start today.”

White encouraged students to pursue their passions.

“Push yourself to the limits. Challenge yourself. Be a risk taker,” he said.

Valedictorian David Friedman offered his fellow graduates life lessons from “Forest Gump.”

“We can focus on our limitations or we can refuse to let them stop us,” said Friedman. “Class of 2012, if I had one piece of advice, it would be to watch 'Forest Gump.'”

Principal Michael Devoll’s message also had a humorous note as he remembered “The Pep Rally Incident,” in which seniors Connor Maloney and Tyler Macedo-Fields  stumped the student body with a revised ORR cheer.

“It is a very standard cheer — one that inspires greatness among mere mortals and victory in the most dire of straights,” said Devoll. “Rather than leading the school cheer of ‘We are...O.R.!’ Tyler and Connor began with ‘Who are we?’ The student body was left speechless,” said Devoll.

With his final address to the class, Devoll said, “I felt it was my duty to answer Tyler and Connor.”

The principal honored the 182 graduates, and reminded them of what they accomplished during their four years at ORR.

In their red and white gowns, the students stood as Devoll said, “We are SCC champions, techies, junior high students who survived Survivor, the most creatively dressed senior at the prom…most important, we are graduates of the 50th class or ORR.”

No doubt with some nostalgia from Devoll’s speech, the students lined up to accept their diplomas, and throw their caps in the air with this cheer still ringing in their ears:

“We are…O.R.!”

Watch a slideshow of the graduation and download a list of graduates below.