A great white shark was reported twice in Vineyard waters this past week, the most recent off Menemsha Beach on Wednesday evening.

Capt. Buddy Vanderhoop of Aquinnah called the Gazette Wednesday night to say a great white shark had been seen 50 feet off the Menemsha beach at about 6:30 p.m. He said the animal was finning and moving up the beach. Later it moved toward the Brickyard.

Capt. Scott McDowell of Chilmark was out fishing on a charter on Sunday afternoon when, he said, a great white shark came out of the water three times near his new boat.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduating class of 2008 is made up of of 193 individuals. But as advisors and administrators describe the students they have come to know over the past four years, the running theme is that this is a group class.

“The thing I like about this class is they do things together, they achieve together,” school principal Margaret (Peg) Regan said this week. “It’s not a class of competitive individualists. They’re a class of thoughtful contributors.”

Pay increases for top administrators at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School were approved this week, completing a round of raises for nonunion administrative staff in Island schools. The increases, which ranged from 3.5 to 6.5 per cent, were recommended by Vineyard schools superintendent James H. Weiss based on several factors including cost of living, performance and reaction to raises resulting from teacher contract negotiations last year.

Heavy winds can delay some outdoor ventures. But when the Chilmark planning board meets on Monday, they will hope for wind. On the agenda is a site visit to at least one of the two residential wind turbines which have gone up in town in the past two months.

Sitting outside Up-Island Cronig’s earlier this week, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s 2008 valedictorian Truman French appeared to wearing much of the earth he had shifted around a Chilmark home that day, during a 12-hour landscaping shift.

“I’m trying to get a couple years’ college paid for,” he explained. Along with the rest of his class, Truman finished his final classes less than a week ago.

The Tuesday Gazette will carry full coverage of high graduation ceremonies, plus girls’ lacrosse. For news updates, check the Web site at mvgazette.com.

There is plenty going on in the zodiacal constellation Leo this weekend. It would be interesting to hear what astrologers are offering in the form of advice to those born between July 23 and August 22, those who are in the sign of Leo, the lion.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

May 30 70 54 .00

May 31 75 56 .00

June 1 67 57 .00

June 2 77 53 .00

June 3 75 53 .00

June 4 82 59 .17

June 5 61 55 .68

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 61º F.

Katie Mayhew, 15, of West Tisbury is a semi-finalist in the Boston Pops Sing-Off, a Best of Broadway challenge. Katie is shown singing Monday night at the Symphony Hall in Boston. She is one of six semi-finalists, chosen that night out of 22 contestants from around the Commonwealth for her singing of the Broadway tune Being Alive. As a semi-finalist, she will perform with conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at the hall on either June 17 or 18. The number of singers will be culled down further to two and those two will perform with the Pops at Symphony Hall on July 1.

Vineyard Seniors Graduate

From Falmouth Academy

Four students from the Vineyard are graduating in the class of 2008 at Falmouth Academy.

They are Regina Maree Antolick, the daughter of Tom and Marie Antolick of Edgartown; Melora Marie Giles Armstead, the daughter of Kenneth Armstead and Lorna Giles of Edgartown, Christian Meigs Cabral, the son of Doug and Molly Cabral of Chilmark; and Zuzana Sottova, who is from Bardejov, Slovakia, and has lived this year with the Mark and Kim Baumhofer family in Vineyard Haven.