Matthew Janger, AHS principal
Welcome to the 153rd Annual Graduation Ceremony for Arlington High School. Thank you to the teachers, students, and parents for making this happen. Thanks to our administrators, Mr. DiLoreto, Mr. McKnight, Ms. Tivnan, and Mr. McCarthy who keep this place together. Thank you to the teacher volunteers who put in extra time to make graduation run. Special Thanks to Carolyn Simmons for the weeks of overtime she put in to get the lists right. And, please, a round of applause for Ms. Begin, who has taken on AHS graduation as her personal mission. Thank you.
Every year, when we listen to the graduation speeches, the students mention this building. They talk about the challenges of its mazelike cooridors, the stairways to nowhere, and the crumbling… everything. They have celebrated the relationships and lessons we have built there.
‘How many crying today?’
Each year, at this time, the halls and homes we have been longing to leave sudddenly become precious. How many students have thought this year, “I can’t wait to get out of high school. I can’t wait to be on my own”. How many of you parents have felt the same?
And yet, how many students have had moments of nostalgia, fear, anxiety, panic about your next step of life? Parents, on Monday morning when I drove to school and exams were done, I had something in my eyes and nose. How many of you will be crying today?
This is part of the process of leaving home. Of leaving the nest. Students have been building their independence and friendships to help them leave, to make them want to leave. But now we take stock of what has been important and what we value. We see it in symbols, of school colors, jerseys, buildings, robes, yearbooks. But what matters are the values, the knowledge, the memories, and the relationships you take away.
As a community, we are talking about a new school building and wondering about the school we remember. This is a symbol of what we value about Arlington. Every summer, I worry about being ready for the fall and then I remind myself of what makes a school. The students and teachers need to show up in the right rooms, planning to study the same topic. Students, Teachers, Materials together in community. That’s what makes Arlington High School.
In my office, I have a photo from 1866 of the first teachers and students of Arlington High. Back when this was still Cotting High in West Cambridge. 50 years later they would move to this site, the school has continued for over 150 years.
Every year I remind you that Arlington is one of the best high schools in one of the best public school systems in the world. If Massachusetts were a country, it would rank among the top countries.
You are ready to graduate. It’s time to leave home knowing how much we care and how sorry, and ready, we are for you to leave. We love you. We will always be here.
This viewpoint was published Sunday, June 2, 2019.
