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Dr. David Hopson |
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June 11 , 2007 Congratulations to the Gateway Regional Class of 2007! Commencement exercises took place on Friday, June 8th on Booster Field. The weather was nearly perfect, the student speeches were great, the band and chorus performed wonderfully, and the members of the Class of 2007 looked full of promise as they received their diplomas. The topic of the day seemed to be choices and it was evident that those members who earned their diplomas made appropriate choices over the years to achieve this success. Good choices were also evident in the Senior Awards Ceremony, in which a majority of the Class of 2007 received recognition for outstanding accomplishments and achievements over four years of high school. Amazingly for such a small school, over $40,000 worth of scholarships were handed out during the ceremony. These were from a wide variety of sources including school based organization scholarships, memorial scholarships, company scholarships, and state scholarships. I’m grateful that so many individuals are interested in helping our graduating seniors get off to an excellent start on their future plans. As always, there was also recognition for outstanding performance in academics, theatre, band, chorus, athletics, volunteerism, and leadership—a mark of a well-rounded approach to preparing students for life beyond the classroom walls. I believe the district is holding true to the idea of educating the whole child despite the pressures from the federal government (the No Child Left Behind Act) and the state (in terms of a one-size fits all MCAS graduation requirement) and the proof of this is found in the actions, performance, and success of this year’s graduates. Mary Ann Shipman, middle school multi-cultural teacher and featured commencement speaker, spoke of the adventures this class had during the building project when they had the opportunity to spend some of their middle school time in the elementary school. Mrs. Shipman pointed out that despite the difficulties involved in these moves, the Class of 2007 remained positive, continued to learn, had fun, and successfully mastered the material, knowledge and skills required of them. She also encouraged graduates to follow 5 key principles in order to be productive, successful and very happy: listen patiently, think positively, speak carefully, act compassionately and choose to be happy. Our graduates will continue to be faced with ongoing choices, and with every decision made they’ll move further and further away from who they were during commencement. I’m hopeful that their experiences to date (family, school, and community) have prepared them to make good choices that are in their best interest and help them to meet their goals and fulfill their dreams. I wish each member of the Class of 2007 the best as they move forward in their academic, occupational, and personal lives and congratulate them on their success on this important occasion. ### |
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