Class of 2010 Graduation
The following is from a June 3, 2010 article by The Times Herald:
They were empowered to write the final chapter of a great school — and they did.
That was the accolade Sister Janet Purcell, principal of Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School, rendered to the school’s final graduating class at the outset of a bittersweet commencement ceremony on Wednesday morning.
Before an audience of about 400 crowded into the Griffin Complex gymnasium at Gwynedd Mercy Catholic College, Purcell told the 142 members of the Class of 2010 that they had “defined this year with special memories, friendships and successes. You completed the journey with dignity, and I thank you.”
Commencement began with the national anthem sung by 2010 graduate Carly Grace Bello and a touching processional nod to the school’s forebears, with alumni carrying the flags of St. Patrick’s, Bishop Kenrick, St. Matthew’s and Archbishop Kennedy schools, as well as that of Kennedy-Kenrick.
As master of ceremonies, Joseph Lynn, Kennedy-Kenrick’s assistant principal for student affairs, explained, St. Patrick’s High School opened in 1895 and was closed in 1955 to make way for Bishop Kenrick.
St. Matthew’s ultimately evolved into Archbishop Kennedy, which merged with Bishop Kenrick in 1993 to form Kennedy-Kenrick.
The 17th and last class to graduate from Kennedy-Kenrick was asked by Purcell to remember that the school was a “community united in faith and love with Christ.”
The literary thread continued as Meghan McNair, salutatorian, echoed Purcell’s remarks, saying her class had been given “the task to complete the 17-year-long story of Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School,” as each student contributed immeasurably to the school’s culture, through everything from academics to student government.
The most important element of the hypothetical book, McNair noted, was the spine, which was “formed by faith, hope and love.”
With this backbone, rooted in a love of Christ, the school was able to grow, with the unifying piece being the love shared throughout each chapter, she stated.
Following Louise Eckert’s announcing of the names of 45 students who had been awarded scholarships, the Reverend Joseph P. McFadden, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, encouraged the graduates to make the world a place that God intended, and live with integrity.
“This world needs your generous response to Christ,” McFadden said.
He thanked the parents for their commitment to giving their children a Catholic education and for the difficult sacrifices they have made.
The most dynamic farewell came courtesy of Shohom Basuthakur, class valedictorian.
“You’re off to great places,” he told his classmates. “Today we finally leave behind our beloved blue and gold and step foot in the real world.”
Basuthakur said that the true value of a Kennedy-Kenrick education couldn’t be measured by test scores, but in the spiritual transformation of the graduates and their positive influence on society.
Although the Class of 2010 will not have a school to revisit, the graduates will always have the community they left behind, he stated.
The backbone of the school “was never 250 East Johnson Highway ... it was the people inside the school. The spirit, hope and love that define Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School will live on in each and every student.”
Read more about this topic: Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School
Famous quotes containing the words class of and/or class:
“The class of citizens who provide at once their own food and their own raiment, may be viewed as the most truly independent and happy.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“During the long ages of class rule, which are just beginning to cease, only one form of sovereignty has been assigned to all men—that, namely, over all women. Upon these feeble and inferior companions all men were permitted to avenge the indignities they suffered from so many men to whom they were forced to submit.”
—Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906)