REGIONAL – All around the area parents are ordering party trays, getting out their finest suits and ties, summer dresses and all else ripe for graduation time. Already, our kindergartners and pre-K pioneers are beaming for tearful parents at moving up ceremonies. Elementary students have proudly taken that step that lands them in middle school come September.

And graduates are ensuring they've got everything in order to get their diplomas come Friday and Saturday. And eying their graduation robes and mortar boards for the upcoming ceremonies. Speeches are being prepared by students and administrators, as well as family members at the various private events accompanying what will be going on at our schools. Or outside them, given that the current weather patterns hold.

The Class of 2016 is ready to move on to their next stages in life, be it in the form of college, local or far away, jobs or, in some cases, travel. Those who achieved academically, or socially, or by attending all their classes since starting off as kindergarteners, as one Ellenville student has done, are ready for accolades.

In Ellenville, seniors will be graduating on Friday, June 24. The ceremony will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the district's athletic field... In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the high school auditorium. The Class of 2016 valedictorian is Kassondra Little and the salutatorian is Gan Lin.

Rondout Valley Central School District seniors will also be graduating Friday June 24, starting at 6 p.m. at the main campus football field. This year's valedictorian is Sean Konz, who will be attending Stanford University in the fall planning to major in computer science; the salutatorian is Samantha Squire, whose hobbies include playing the card game Magic, skiing, traveling and learning/working on cars and trucks.

Over in Pine Bush, graduation will be at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 25 on the football field, with a move inside if it looks like rain. The district dropped its Val and Sal categories years ago and instead will have Zoe Waizenegger as their Number 1, and Charles Donley as Two.

Everywhere two questions persist, beyond a few worries about testing completions. The first... will it rain? The second: what to wear UNDER the robes.

Congrats to all... and don't sweat the questions. At least not this weekend.