Newtown High School's (NHS) Class of 2026 took to the field of the school's Blue & Gold Stadium and graduated on Tuesday, June 16.

Over 2,000 family members and friends packed the stadium's bleachers and lawn chairs to celebrate their loved ones’ big day. Some prepared balloons and bouquets for the special occasion, while others even printed out a picture of their child's face onto a stick. This way, as they walked across the stage, they could hold it up high as they cheered them on.

Meanwhile, over 275 students gathered in the parking lot beside the stadium, donning their school's signature blue and white graduation gowns. They stood together under the warm spring sun, spending their last moments as NHS students reminiscing about the past four years.

It was only a matter of time before they took to the field. The audience cheered for the soon-to-be graduates as they walked to the tune of "Pomp and Circumstance," performed by the NHS Band.

Everyone stood up as the NHS Chamber Choir performed "The Star-Spangled Banner," before quietly taking their seats once again.

Remembrance

NHS Principal Kimberly Longobucco said that the NHS Class of 2026 lost one of their own on January 8 of this year, Abigail Greene. She said Greene was a beloved classmate, dear friend, and daughter who loved to travel. Longobucco called her a bright light in their lives, a light almost as radiant as the Eiffel Tower, one of Greene's favorite places on Earth.

"Abby was looking forward to this day, and would want each of her classmates to enjoy this moment with happiness and pride. Please join me in a moment of silence for Abby," Longobucco told the crowd. "Her impact will continue to live on through the countless lives she touched."

Her name, Abigail Seblewongel Greene, was listed with the rest of her graduating class. Next to her name was a blue heart, with its message in the program's key stating "Always Remembered."

Breathe

Longobucco welcomed family, friends, faculty, staff, Board of Education members, and "the stars of tonight's show," the Class of 2026, to this year's commencement exercises.

She noted that there are a lot of difficult things that come with being a high school principal. However, Longobucco said creating a speech year after year, in the hopes it sends students off into the word with one final, meaningful message, is certainly in the top five most difficult things.

There are many things she said they take for granted, including a constant that has been happening their whole lives: breathing. Longobucco clarified she was not talking about involuntary breathing, but about intentional breathing.

"These are the breaths that you take a little deeper, that last a little longer, and that are used as a grounding force for whatever is coming next," Longobucco explained.

Whether it is the breath they take before a big assessment or before they step onto the field wearing blue and gold for the last time, Longobucco said it is those that matter the most. They give them a moment of purposeful quiet, before they feel ready to take on the challenges and unknowns ahead of them.

Longobucco had one last gift for all of them: a rock inscribed with the word "breathe." She hopes it will remind students to take a breath whenever life gets difficult, and that it gives them the drive to keep moving forward.

"So look around, take it all in, and enjoy," Longobucco told her students. "You make me endlessly proud, and I can't wait to see what's in store for each and every one of you. And my final words to you, as almost high school graduates: always remember to breathe."

She welcomed graduating senior Master of Ceremonies Gabriella DeNicola, who said they would now hear comments from Senior Class Council Co-President Claire DiNoto.

DiNoto noted that people are quick to be annoyed by things they still have: the noise, the inconvenience, the repetition, and the little things that interrupt their days and make them roll their eyes without a second thought. However, she said every one of these annoyances is actually a blessing in disguise.

"The things that bother you the most right now are things that you'll probably miss one day. So before life teaches you that lesson, look around and actually look ... We spend so much of our lives waiting for the next chapter that we forget to appreciate the page we're on," DiNoto said.

She introduced the next speaker, fellow Senior Class Council Co-President Stephen Mammola. He shared that, after four years of presentations and lectures, he could think of no better way to celebrate than forcing everyone to sit through one more.

To make the experience as "authentic as possible," Mammola said he prepared his speech the same way many of them prepared for assignments in high school: by starting it the previous night. Mammola initially felt stuck on what to say to a group of people at the edge of their future. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that almost everything is made up.

"And I recognize that that sounds like something you'd hear from a guy who started his speech last night, but hear me out," Mammola said. "I don't mean that the world isn't real, I mean that the most of the things that seem permanent, unquestionable, and inevitable, were created by ordinary people."

Everything, from school schedules to letter grades, was made up by another person who came before them. They decided it "made sense," and other people agreed to go along with it. The same, Mammola said, is true far beyond high school. He added, "These things are not laws of nature, they're ideas created by people. And once you realize that ... you stop assuming there's only one correct way to live, because there isn't.

"So Class of 2026, go make something up, and convince the rest of us it's a great idea."

Salutatorian, Superintendent

The NHS Chamber Choir performed "City of Stars" from the film La La Land, joined by piano accompanist Alexander Gilson, for a musical interlude.

Afterwards, the Class of 2026 Salutatorian Nikita Mukka spoke. She mentioned a friend asked if she would start her speech with, "Wow, I can't believe we made it to this moment," to which Mukka said, "God no, why would I ever do that?"

"But here we are, and I still cannot quite grasp the fact that we are never returning. We won't be coming back in a few months to sit through what feels like hours of classes in the mornings ... and say hi to all of our friends before class," Mukka said. "I think I'll truly only understand that on the plane to college, because it's impossible to comprehend I won't be returning to see the same almost 300 faces I've gotten to know for basically 12 years."

When she first started writing her speech, Mukka said she was advised to think about her favorite memories from high school. Mukka noted that she, as usual, turned to her friends for help. She said they did not mention the things they spent years stressing over, like grades, test scores, or acceptance letters. Instead, Mukka said they remembered the fun moments, such as struggling through physics, sneaking clothespins on Spanish problems, or the time Mukka spilled chemicals on herself in chemistry.

"Apparently, the sight of me breaking the bottom of a Styrofoam cup full of zinc oxide was something my friend considers a 'core memory,'" Mukka said.

For Mukka, the memories that have stuck with her are playing Scattergories in physics, making a music video to "Last Friday Night" in film class, or making a gingerbread house that would have blown over to a weak gust of wind. It is these moments, she said, that they will carry with them now and into the rest of their lives.

"So, in every spare moment you have now or in the next few years, make the most of it," Mukka told her peers. "You never know when the best memories will be made. Because if this school has taught us anything, it's that the moments we'll remember most will always be the ones we weren't prepared for."

Newtown Scholarship Association President Jay Bartel took the stage next. Thanks to the generosity of their donors, Bartel said they were able to award over $100,000 to this year's graduating class. He thanked the Class of 2026 for inspiring them with their intelligence, adding that he is proud of them.

Then, Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti addressed the crowd. She told the graduating class that it was an honor to stand before them at a pivotal moment in their lives, one that is both an ending and a beginning. While graduation is a culmination, a finish line after all these years of development, Uberti said it was also the start of the next chapter in their lives.

Uberti continued by saying they used to have much more in common as toddlers, people ready to learn everything about the world. Now, Uberti said, they are all incredibly different, seeking independence, developing their own beliefs and values, contemplating the difficult questions in life.

"Somehow, by the time seniors reach their senior year, there's the belief they should have everything figured out ... that where they go next, what they study, what job they take, or even how successful they were in high school will determine the course of their future," Uberti said. "I can tell you that life rarely follows the path we expect it to."

Whatever they have or have not accomplished in their lives thus far is not a final judgment, Uberti noted. The truth is, she said, their potential is never fully realized, nor permanently limited by their high school experience.

"High school is a significant part of your story, but it is not the whole story," Uberti told the graduating students. "So as you leave here tonight, be proud of what you have accomplished, but do not be limited by it. Class of 2026, your story is not complete. In many ways, it is just beginning. We are proud of you, not for being finished, but being ready to continue."

Valedictorian

Uberti then introduced everyone to the Class of 2026 Valedictorian, Olivia Bossio-Dotolo, who spoke next. She started her speech by stating, "The Class of 2026. Three words. Four numbers."

She said this is who they have been for the past four years, that all their work, dedication, and struggles have been for this moment: to be called the Class of 2026. For all their lives, Bossio-Dotolo said, they have been reduced to numbers like this one.

She, like many of her peers, focused on the bold numbers in PowerSchool, exam scores, and essays, over and over again. It would determine how long she studied, or the number she would aim for at the end of a race.

"If the number wasn't enough, then neither was I," Bossio-Dotolo said. "And I know I'm not the only one who has felt this way ... but a number isn't who we are. We are not robots programmed to reach a certain goal. We make mistakes, we try, and we fail. And a number just can't measure that."

Bossio-Dotolo emphasized that they are human, and that their worth cannot be measured. However, she said they are not only reduced to numbers, but words, too. She shared that, from a young age, people thought of her as smart. Her grandparents would praise her grades and her friends would assume she knew all the answers. While being smart is not necessarily a bad thing, Bossio-Dotolo said she hated being seen in one way, and all the expectations the label put onto her.

She added, "I hated that people didn't try to look past that one word. I was smart, and that was it. Because the thing is, when people start seeing you in only one way, you forget that you are made up of so much more."

Bossio-Dotolo, like many of her peers, said she started to break out of these labels. In freshman year, she started to set small goals for herself, to talk to one new person every day, or smile at three strangers in the hall, in order to break out of her shell. Bossio-Dotolo felt her confidence grow, and that she became something much more than the "quiet, smart girl."

"We know that our beautiful, complex lives cannot be reduced to a single word or number," Bossio-Dotolo said. "I want to thank the teachers, mentors, families, friends, and moments who make us who we are. Because we are not just numbers and words. We are not just the Class of 2026. We are so much more."

Keynote Address, Awarding Of Diplomas

The next speaker was NHS teacher Candi Dietter, who served as the commencement keynote address speaker. She started by exclaiming she could not believe no one, up until her, had called the Class of 2026 the best class ever.

"I'm exited to be here today as your teacher. Why, you might ask? Well, because as you know, it's my graduation as well. And there's no one happier than me to get out of here," Dietter said, playfully.

She continued by saying that she is a little unpredictable, and, as such, she got a gift bag for each graduate that they could pick up after the ceremony.

"Why did I buy you gifts? Other than you being the best class ever, I hope that one day, when you see the gift, you might giggle. Maybe you'll use it to remember some fun times we had in class. Or maybe some of you will use it as a dartboard. Whatever. But use it to remember your time at NHS and the connections you have made," Dietter said.

She spoke on the unpredictability of life, that some people will live the perfect life they planned when they were little, while others will not. Some students may not predict failing to get into their top school, but they might find the best roommate ever at the school they went to instead.

Both the good and bad in life, she said, happen.

"You may not be able to predict how everything in life will go, but in retrospect, you will see that you are right where you were meant to be," Dietter said. "So go enjoy the summer, make some connections, be unpredictable, and don't let the unpredictability of life throw you off course."

Uberti returned to the stage, and said it was her pleasure and duty as superintendent to certify that the student graduates have completed all graduation requirements as prescribed by the Board of Education (BOE) and State BOE. She then presented the Class of 2026 to BOE Chair Alison Plante.

Plante, who called herself the last thing standing between the students and their diplomas, spoke on behalf of her fellow BOE members and said they are all incredibly proud of them.

Students then lined up one by one as they walked to the stage, crossing when their names were called. Like so many years before, audiences were encouraged to hold their applause, but family and friends did not hold back their excitement as they watched their loved ones cross the stage. Some rang cowbells, others blew airhorns, and a few shouted out phrases like, "That's my girl!" or "I know that guy!"

Regardless of who they were there for, the crowd's energy was palatable and contagious the whole way through. After the last student walked across the stage, the audience broke out into applause. The graduating class tossed their caps into the air, their first act as newly crowned high school graduates.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.