NHS Graduation –

The Class Of 2000 Moves On

By Jeff White

They entered the high school four years ago amid a clanging cacophony of construction. Last week, in the waning light of a humid day, they left to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

In a ceremony rife with every emotion – anxiety, compassion, laughter, elation, sorrow – 255 Newtown High School seniors said goodbye, as they reconciled four years lived within the comforting fold of NHS with a future about to unfold.

And they did it their way.

Where commencement tradition has usually called for a valedictorian’s speech, a salutatorian’s speech, and a keynote address, the class of 2000 got their doses of sage graduation advice in sets of two.

Valedictorian Clare Beams and Salutatorian Laura Hammond gave a joint speech, both of their voices battling the wind for command of the microphone. They framed their advice for their classmates in a list of “the top 10 things that we would want for us, the class of 2000.”

They cautioned their peers not to be afraid of change. “The period in our lives that we, as graduating seniors, are all beginning is inevitably a period of change. We no longer have the option of keeping things the same, although some of us do love Newtown High School so much that we would want to stay here for the rest of our lives,” Laura said. “Thus, we have a choice: to either learn from the change or to view graduation as simply another meaningless event that everyone has to go through.”

Veteran keynote speaker Bob McHugh took the podium once again this year, but was joined by another popular faculty member, social studies teacher Ed Obloj. Much like the class of 2000’s top two students, Mr McHugh and Mr Obloj opted to join forces on a speech, bringing the expected element of comedy that acted to offset the seriousness of the occasion.

Spoofing the popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Mr McHugh and Mr Obloj asked simply, “Who wants to be a high school graduate?” After the assembled class answered five of their questions, the two social studies teachers turned their attention to passing on a few nuggets of advice.

“Go to class, do your work, don’t sign up for every credit card that is offered to you, enjoy every minute, call home regularly, and when you do come home for the first weekend, do not bring home a laundry bag full of dirty laundry,” admonished Mr McHugh.

The makeshift game show put on by Mr McHugh and Mr Obloj was a way of taking a milestone ceremony a little less seriously. Students took the time to customize their mortarboards with messages and decorations, while they batted beach balls back and forth, careful not to have them fall into the hands of a faculty member.

The light-hearted traditions and the wind-muffled microphone did not stop the message from ultimately reaching the students: the future is out there, full of new dreams to be realized, and laden with choices.

Board of Education Chairman Elaine McClure told the graduating class to meet those choices and dreams with a smile. In a touching story about the smile for which her now deceased father was known, Mrs McClure explained that sometimes a simple smile is the best way to meet the incongruities of life. “You have talents,” she added, “use them.”

As lines of students snaked up to the podium to receive diplomas, the expressions on students’ faces reflected the mixed bag of emotions that accompanies the end of all journeys. Some students rejoiced, while others remained serious. And for some, the accomplishment of graduating brought a little more sorrow than joy. During a poignant standing ovation, Principal Bill Manfredonia embraced Danielle Saputo, whose father passed away a few days before the ceremony, in a display of sympathy and class support.

 But like their high school careers, the commencement ceremony eventually came to an end, and students spilled into the parking lot embracing family, and each other.

Four years ago, they embarked on their journey as incomplete and unsure as the high school they entered. In 1996, the school was in a state of renovation, gutted and disheveled, not looking much like the finished product it now is. Neither, for that matter, did that year’s freshman class.

But four years later, NHS is a blue ribbon school, and 1996’s freshmen stood together as a complete class, closing their arms around friends, and leaving them open to the future.

Never forget, advised Clare Beams.

“No matter how we all differ, we have one thing in common: we are all beginning the rest of our lives from the same place.”