THE CLIMACTIC MOMENT. The Class of 2015 tosses their mortarboards in the air, making it official. They are now NRHS graduates. (John Friberg Photo)
By BOB TUROSZ
NORTH READING – As the Class of 2015 gathered in the NRHS gymnasium prior to commencement Friday night, class advisor Rick Doucette interrupted the chatter, primping and rounds of selfie photos by impressing on the graduates something they may not have realized.
“This is the last time you will all be together in one room,” Doucette told the 173 graduates. This is it. No matter how many reunions lie ahead for the Class of 2015, no matter how many Thanksgiving Day returns, there will never a 100 percent turnout. Someone will always be having a baby, someone will always be in the military, someone will always be on the other side of the world. Savor the moment, Doucette told the graduates, because it will never come around again.
Shortly after that, the students, led by their faculty and classmate Jared Samost playing the bagpipes, became the first to march down the hill from the new school to their commencement exercises on the Arthur Kenney Field, making the most of a sunny but cool June evening.
Recognizing their unique position as the first class to graduate in the school’s new era, Class Officers President Matthew Stead, Vice President Jacqueline Lanzaro, Secretary Payton Baker and Treasurer Cole Hughes announced the Class Gift, which will leave their mark on the building forever: “Street” signs for the intersections of major hallways within the new school. This idea sprang from the informal naming of the main corridor in the common area of the new high and middle school as Main Street, explained Baker.
THE GIFT OF DIRECTIONS. Class Treasurer Cole Hughes and Vice President Jackie Lanzaro aloft part of the Class of 2015’s gift to the high school at commencement Friday night – street signs so visitors can find their way in the new school. This is an enlarged version. At right is class president Matthew Stead. (Bob Turosz Photo)
The class came up with the idea of naming the first three floors of the academic building Park Street, Central Street and North Street. Each sign will also sport the Hornet logo and appropriate room numbers.
“With these signs, students, faculty and visitors alike will no longer be circling the atrium looking for a room that does not seem to exist,” Baker said.
Stead gave the class its official sendoff before they threw their caps in the air: “Thank you for being the best class that has ever graduated from North Reading High School.”
After entering the field led by class marshals Cole Godzinski and Tyler Stansbury, the graduates had fun with the traditional barrage of beach balls and clapped along with the High School Chorus’ fun/Pharrell Mashup. The bleachers on the field were packed to capacity with friends and family who started arriving at 5 p.m., a full 75 minutes before the start of the ceremonies, to secure good seats. Superintendent of Schools Jon Bernard and Principal A.J. Loprete led the faculty and administration down the hill with the graduates.
The Class of 2015, 173 strong, included 84 students graduating with honors and 66 members of the National Honor Society.
In his charge to the graduates, Supt. Bernard quoted President Teddy Roosevelt: “Believe you can and you are halfway there.”
Bernard advised the student to make life-long learning a habit. Keep a book on your bedside table and read every day, he said. Read for pleasure, read to learn more, read to remain educated men and women but be sure to read, he said.
Loprete said the community is proud of the Class of 2015 and that they will always be Hornets. “To be a hornet means you belong to a colony, it means you have a purpose. … You are part of a group that is invested in your success, because your success means the group is thriving. … You are industrious by nature, build something … build for yourself a part in a community that cares so deeply for its young people that it builds a school.”
The three honor essayists, Jacqueline Lanzaro, Nicholas Phillips and Joseph Tramontozzi spoke from the heart to their classmates.
“Today, we say thank you to the town for supporting us, the teachers for guiding us, the friends for always being there, the siblings for always making us smile and most importantly our parents for encouraging us and giving us the tools we needed to be successful,” said Lanzaro. “Tomorrow, we search for our new circle of support.
“Today, we watch the world. Tomorrow, we change the world. Today, we remember. Tomorrow, we never forget. This is not a goodbye. This is a time to fly,” Lanzaro said.
Phillips advised his classmates: “Always remember your past decisions and mistakes but avoid letting them impede your own personal growth. Our near future is commonly referred to as the best years of our lives. … A more realistic description would profess that these next few years can be the best of our lives, depending on what we make of them.” Phillips advised his classmates to “carpe diem” – seize the day – and take advantage of every chance they get.
Tramontozzi spoke of his love for his Italian heritage and how the class nostalgia for North Reading will remain. “We will enter and exit many doors in our lives but always remember the door to North Reading will forever say, ‘Welcome.’ I leave you with the following Italian proverb: “No matter where you go, or where you turn, you will always end up at home.”
Class essayist Danielle Gillis compared the four years of their high school years to the four seasons: freshman year was autumn, sophomore was winter, junior year was spring. Senior year, like summer, was full of adventures, fun and memories. “But the fun we had is bittersweet because our next fall season, we won’t be together. We won’t be little trees full of green leaves at North Reading High School. We will begin a new cycle.”
School Committee Chairman Janene Imbriano conferred diplomas on each and every member of the class, assisted by vice principal Michael Downs, who said he was honored to be the students’ last vice principal.
Be sure to check out the special graduation supplement in today’s Transcript.
