and gentlemen i ask you to please please join me in welcoming the class of two thousand and nine after our processional please remain standing after the perfect processional for the national anthem thank you please be seated good afternoon ladies and gentlemen my name is michael harvey and i am the principal of belmont high school on behalf of the administration faculty and students of the entire public school district i'd like to welcome you to our commencement exercises for the class of two thousand and nine as we begin our program and like to introduce our honored mr dennis fitzpatrick assistant superintendent of schools and the members of the belmont school committee joining us today are chairperson miss and ritten school committee member miss laurie gra and school committee member risk miss rebecca  the public schools is learn think create serve and the young men and women here assemble before me have a certainly embodied the meaning of these words and distinguish themselves in extraordinary ways here's a brief sample of the skills and skills and abilities that are possessed by this group of young people the students of demonstrated their commitment to learning and critical thinking at our end on monday among the numerous awards award winners we recognize thirty seven students who together mass seventy perfect eight hundred scores on the s a t one in two test nine members of the class of two thousand and nine were recognized as national merit scholarship finalists but  and three of them were awarded national merit scholars a fourth national merit scholars finalist receive the prestigious siemens award for being the highest scoring female in the country eight math and science advanced placement exams one member of the senior class was recognized for his performance on the american high school mathematics competition exams and has a winner in the united states mathematics olympiad placing him a among the top students of mathematics in the united states additionally the students in the class of two thousand and nine have also been recognized for their creative abilities six members of the class were recognized as boston globe last six for their talents as painters photographers and sculptors prefer seven of our performing arts groups were awarded gold medals by the massachusetts instrumental and core conductors association and thirty individual members of the class of two thousand and nine were recognized for excellence this year in instrumental music course and theater other members of this class have demonstrated the public schools motto through distinguishing themselves on the playing fields the members of the class of two thousand and nine comprise the nucleus of a division to north champion and girl soccer and a division two north run boys basketball three young women in this class assembled here today have signed national letters of intent to continue their athletic participation on the division one level in field hockey softball and swimming students assembled here today have also demonstrated an understanding of the responsibility to those who have so much talent must give back to the to the community the two hundred eighty members of this class collectively competed completed over ten thousand seven hundred hours of community service this year in a special ceremony at last tuesday night's school committee meeting thirty nine members of this class received the presidential community service award signifying a minimum of one hundred hours of service completed this year and five members of the class of two thousand and nine a very in this award each of their four years a bomb on high school if it wasn't clear enough that these students have some great accomplishments under their belts they also earned one hundred and one thousand scholarships totaling over ninety thousand dollars this year seniors you soon shown yourselves to be a group of young people who are more than worthy to be called graduates of belmont high school you continue the tradition of belmont ice high school of raising the standard of excellence on the twenty third of june up reside with mrs alexander over the eighth grade promotional exercises at the general middle school and i have to tell them that you have set a very high bar for them to have to meet and try to exceed in their four years a bomb on time you've made your student your families your teachers and the entire town of belmont proud of you congratulations to every one of you and enjoy the celebration because you've truly earned it thank you well it's kind thank god it didn't feel good afternoon dr arbonne mr fitzpatrick dr harvey the school committee friends families teachers and graduates did i miss anyone our police detail right in the back there guys and hershey oh hey grandma grandma over there my team my family threatened to wear t shirts that said team dean across the front it was really embarrassing i can't believe i'm up here at my high school graduation it's kind of surreal i'm going to take a moment to just take it all in sarm kind of nasally i'm kind of sick right now i have to meet you i'm a little bit nervous it's not that i fear public speaking but because i struggled with how to approach the speech but wh i really came down to was to speak from the heart it sounds corny i know but i'm going to tell your story all right it started at the burbank represent burbank  whenever i saw a substitute teacher the fear and exhausted would start to build gradually i could only hope the rapid pounding of my heartbeat was imperceptible to my classmates it all began with my name oh the lovely sounding syllables of the name dena as it rolls off your tongue my parents were probably thinking as they unwittingly bestowed upon me a lifetime of fear and exile despite my hopes and prays it was virtually a given that attendance would be taken and inevitable butchering of my name would commence d'anna and my world would fall apart as i would sit there in silence never speaking up to correct the mistake by the time i had the china both my frustrations and my hormones were raging and the substitutes never failed to deliver not even once is d n a here oh my god i wondered is this going to be happening to me for the rest of my life that is not my name my heart was screaming but my brain was telling me to will myself invisible in all fairness to some of the substitute teachers out there it's somewhat understandable given that my name is spelled de lay and if you break it up between the  first and the first day it does read as deanna but couldn't just one of you look at the attendance sheet and see dean with an extra a slap on the end now pay attention because this is where the deep and meaningful part of my story comes and after years of abuse my classmates who apparently have been suffering right alongside me started sticking up for me i could before i could muster a sound one of my classmates would instinctively yell out it's dina though i would sit a guest at the correct pronunciation of my name being voiced not by me but one of my classmates i was relieved i'm flattered it was truly redeeming i know goofy story right but i'm telling you this because i want you to know how something so seemingly insignificant had greatly impacted me what you as my classmates taught me is to have the confidence to speak up for myself now when i'm called by that heinous pronunciation d'anna and excuse me if your name happens to be diana or your great aunt or sister named diana i'm able to kindly correct the person who made the mistake and metaphorically maintain my identity for that small yet significant gesture i've been waiting a long time to thank you it mattered to me thank you it really mattered finally it wouldn't be a graduation speech if i didn't tell you how to live your life so here it is in a nutshell having the courage to prove have the courage to pursue your passions without worrying about failing failing is only a figment of your imagination people have created it to rationalize situations but that does not mean you get report cards you get f s on your report card from college we don't want parents to find out too soon that college is in reality one big expensive party do something new and fun and out of character i mean i'm seriously joining the tap dancing club at my school next year i mean i'm really not getting we'll see how it goes perhaps my new passion have some standards high ones ideally and live by them if you're away at college don't be forced to wear the same pair underwear twice do your laundry don't sacrifice your individuality it's what makes you beautiful be humble of your strengths not everyone can wiggle their ears but you see people that can flaunting that they're extremely modest and finally don't underestimate the potential of a small gesture like that of speaking up for someone who is unable to speak for herself because now she can and your outfits have come full circle i found my voice so they think you once again bowman high school class of two thousand and nine we had a good run graduates parents grandparents friends relatives faculty members of the school committee mr fitzpatrick and dr harvey i'm pleased to present the first school committee award for outstanding achievement and exceptional distinction in scholarship this award is presented to the senior who is the salutatorian of the class of two thousand and nine has been on high honor roll every quarter earned perfect p t scores perfect s a t s scores perfect scores of five and six advanced placement exams perfect scores of three on s a t s subject area test is a national merit finalist the president of the national honor society the b a h s representative to the national council of teachers of english writing competition the winner of the middlesex legal ward for integrity leadership and spirit the winner of the abstract award for his commitment and dedication to the sport a member of the honors workers stra a music mentor at saturday morning music program a recipient for four years of a presidential service award for community service a disciplined intelligent and considerate young man who always goes out of his way to help the school in the community this young man will attend oxford university to study history and politics please welcome to the stage the recipient of this award lincoln hill if you just give me a moment to replace my hat i find it's very stylish  for giving me this privilege and i must i think you want to luckiest of you to be able to stand up here from you and both say goodbye and offer some of my own advice and i'd also especially like to thank those of you who might like to tune me out for another station and may actually do so if you think i'm rambling on too long it's your choice you go ahead if you think you should but doesn't appear that the teleprompter up here is working too well  i'm still on the record so before i say something utterly outrageous i'd like to say to you that is so high school comes at last to a close day i think your parents and guardians your teachers your families whoever also stood by you these many years past really deserve your most sincere thanks while high school may be over today i don't think that today should be the end of anything but fifteen maad seven thirty five's to twenty five monday through friday right here at two twenty one concord it's not the end of the same things that carried us on what we were here desire to learn desire to succeed hard work and friendship the good memories don't end here and the good times sure don't and as those good times go on keep in mind just who made those times good for you so keep in some corner of your mind all the people you see here now for yes we may leave for the ends of the earth yes the long years and many miles may grow between us but we will always be able to recall the warm fellowship we shared in everything that we have learned in high school and that is quite a bit we will always be able to find a piece of our classmates and those are the best parts of high school so i would say to take them along remember also that we were not just classmates we were teammates and we were friends and i hope the long after all these classes of the last ended that we will still be friends because a friend will last longer than a paper or a final exam friend will last longer than any problem set or proof a good friend last longer than a grade and i will say most certainly longer than a grade point average some theories about their friends but no theory no theory can never out the french and perhaps in the end the most important thing might not be the games the races that we won but the with the most important thing might not be all the routine problems we've solved these past four years and more and the grades and all the papers we've written and seniors i know we've written a good number of papers might just be less important than the countless people who have proof read them for us now say the top marks are very important but any good idea you have should always seek another pair of eyes so take a moment and look around you which one of us here can say that we might travel farther and cheve more without each other i don't think that any of us i hope not that many of us can say that and i hope that none of us will ever be able to say that so wherever your head in your heart lead go or we can fall don't go anywhere you can only go alone take us with you and take the world with you because your lofty ideals and your cherished causes you know all the friends all the companions all the company you can gather for always be true that the greatest things we do we do together not alone wherever we go together you and i we will always be greater than just me and that is a gift and i when i look out today i see in our class intelligence integrity friendship and compassion with these i am confident that we now have one of the most valuable assets there is in the modern world an education now i know that i for one don't need to wish you good luck i think you can make it for yourselves and you will never the less good luck and with that hold true to yourself hold on to each  other don't you ever let go thank you the second school committee award for outstanding achievement and exceptional distinction in scholarship is presented to the sr who is the valedictorian of the class of two thousand and nine has been on high honor roll every quarter earned advanced placement scholar a national merit finalist a member of the national honor society the team captain of the math team and qualifier for the game exam a seaman's award winner based on the number of advanced placement exams taken and scores earned a national biology olympiad semifinalist earned high honors at the u s national chemistry olympia and has done extensive research and interned at the brigham and women's hospital neurology labs conscientious motivated and compassionate all around her this young woman will attend harvard in the fall please welcome to the stage the recipient of this award an ok thank you dr mr fitzpatrick the school committee dr harvey faculty and most importantly the class of two thousand  but before we put this milestone behind us i like to take a moment to reflect upon the journey that has taken us through four years of high school and here in the celebration of  the cases took a long time to navigate perhaps we are disheartened by the increased expectations and demands from our teachers or perhaps we found the task of choosing what to do with our freeze both exhilarating and difficult we were all intimidated perhaps with it thrilled by high school students and yet now my honor to present the department awards for the class of two thousand and nine for academic achievement in art rose  the school community warden art goes to jessica meyer for academic achievement in english abigail smith the school community award in english goes to michael s award for academic achievement in foreign language goes to abigail smith the school community award for foreign language goes to stephanie car the school community award for music goes to lincoln hill for academic achievement in science the award is given to the academic achievement award for theater is presented to angelica bradford and the school community award for theatre goes to seth written  a familiar robert frost poem the road not taken describes a quandary for a traveler who comes upon two roads in a yellow wood the traveler attempts to look down the two roads so as to choose the best road for himself like frost traveler who cannot travel both and be one traveler you will find yourself in the same situation in the months and years ahead which road will you travel we think that you are well prepared to meet the challenge of choosing the best road for you i encourage you to travel the road that allows you to follow your bliss and i hope that you will choose a road that offers the opportunity for lifelong learning you may find yourself on a road that is not easy to travel but do not fear struggle or failure your teachers have taught you that it is often through struggle and failure that we can learn the best as you travel remember to maintain your sense of humor your sense of decency and your sense of fairness choose companions on your journey who are kind and optimistic and compassionate choose your own way and do not fear the road not taken frost closes his poem with the lines and i took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference finally take heart in knowing that you need not travel alone those who love you and care about you will always be there for you to sustain you and to encourage you when you are weary from your travels no matter the distance you travel you are always welcome here you are always held close in our hearts and now ms rittenberg members of the school committee i hereby certify that the students assembled here today have completed the requirements to earn a belmont high school diploma and at this time i'd like to ask  in rittenberg to come to the podium for her comments and to begin the diploma distribution thank you good afternoon it is my great privilege and honor to stand here as the elected representative of the citizens of belmont massachusetts and to address belmont high schools graduating class of two thousand and nine as citizens it has been our responsibility to ensure that you the children of our community and the children we have the privilege of sharing with the community of boston have received an excellent an equitable public education we have had a great vision for what we would like you to know and be able to do as you graduate from belmont high school and head off into adult life in the twenty first century we have worked hard to create and sustain a school system that we hope has provided you with the experiences we believe are critical to achieving our vision for you and for our collective future we hope you have learned to ask questions solve problems obtain information seek meaning and make sound decisions with great confidence in yourself we hope that you have learned how to find meaning in your life and in the world around you we hope you have discovered personal strengths passionate interests and deeply felt convictions that you will continue to develop as you head out into the world we hope that you have learned to openly express your ideas feelings and concerns and that you have learned to listen respectfully to the ideas feelings and concerns of others and that you have developed an appreciation of the great value of cooperation and collaboration with others as well as the value of service to your community we hope that you have internalized expectations of effort and excellence for yourselves in all that you do we hope that you have learned to appreciate your accomplishments and those of others and that you have developed a deep respect for diversity we hope that we have given you the foundation of knowledge in a variety of subject areas and the thinking and communication skills that you will need to be successful in adult life we hope we have given you the resources and knowledge to maintain a healthy lifestyle develop meaningful and constructive relationships and manage the constant changes you will face throughout your lives it has been our sincere desire to to prepare you well for the life you have ahead of you we hope we have done right by you for you are our great hope and now the rest is up to you with great pride i congratulate you on behalf of the citizens of belmont massachusetts on your high school graduation and wish you well and all that you do from this day forward thank you amanda alvarez chanel ashley christopher bear and julie bradford michael bradley kristina brown son son catherine choi margaret crucial ryan clary michelle frasier matthew gallagher charlotte gra brian griffin benjamin holland matthew johnston timothy maloney anthony polo michael santoro anthony sharif alexander song for the last sixteen years dr patricia his serve the children of belmont for the first fifteen is assistant superintendent of schools and is let us lead our district through this year as a superintendent dr robin will be retiring at the end of this month to close a career that has spent thirty seven years in both the watertown and belmont school districts and has touched the lives of thousands of students personally i'd like to thank her for all the support she's given to me in my time here i'm on high school first so studies director and second is principal and to commemorate dr robert servants to the public schools i'd like to present her with this honorary diploma dr you too are a member of the class of two thousand and  seniors i'm honored to have been able to work with you in your time a bomb on high school congratulations and good luck in all of your future endeavors