Manhattan Beach schools are out for the summer, following a wave of graduation and promotion ceremonies from schools across town this week.

Mira Costa High School graduated 610 students on Thursday night in a festive scene of white caps and gowns, accented with green and gold trim and colorful flower leis.

The night earlier, Manhattan Beach MIddle School observed a promotion ceremony for its 482 eighth graders moving on to high school.

And across town, the five Manhattan Beach elementary schools - Grand View, Meadows, Pacific, Pennekamp, and Robinson - each celebrated the promotion of 5th grade students as they head off to middle school. 

"I heard stories that made our parents laugh, cry, cringe, and celebrate," said Superintendent Mike Matthews, who attended the high school, middle school, and four out of five elementary promotion ceremonies. "I saw our students' happy, smiling, caring, and proud faces in every ceremony. I heard moving stories about what a difference our employees have made in our students' lives. Experiences like yesterday are why every person enters the field of education. In the end, we are all here to make a difference, to support growth in our students, and to marvel at what our students can achieve."

MBUSD has invited the community to an end-of-year celebration June 16 at Polliwog Park, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The featured entertainment will be Truckstop, Mira Costa principal Ben Dale's band. All are invited to the potluck picnic celebration.