Fwd: Message to the Class of 2020 from the Superintendent
Zagarri, Beverly
Dear Class of 2020,
Very few graduating classes through the years have been asked to navigate an end of the senior year like this one. I have been overwhelmed by the grace and determination with which you have handled this situation. It speaks to the strength of your families, the strength of your character, and the strength of our future that will be in your hands.
Just a few short months ago, who would have imagined a spring where everything is shut down for a pandemic; where you would be in school one day and then never again for the rest of the year; where Murder Hornets don’t even register a yawn? Who would have imagined our seniors would be denied the traditional rites of passage such as prom, final artistic performances and athletic contests, and graduation the way they have always been done - in person and together? I know this has been hard for students, families and staff. I know many of you personally. I can still see you as elementary students, who looked up to the older kids and promised yourselves to live up to the examples they were setting for you. I can assure you that you have. Our current elementary students will do well to model themselves after you! While I have no doubt you can handle this, you shouldn’t have to.
Graduation represents the culmination of 13 years of hard work, setbacks and successes, teamwork, learning, self-discovery, and growth and is when one chapter in your life comes to an end with a new one just beginning. I can assure you that, as superintendent of schools, I too wish we could all celebrate the amazing accomplishments of the class of 2020 in person, and our team and I are going to do everything we can to make that happen!
We have a two-part plan to accomplish this. We cannot know for sure that there will be a possibility to get together live, so we must schedule a virtual graduation first. I am excited to honor our seniors along with our community this June 5th and 6th through our plans for this virtual graduation and a “rolling rally” parade. We are all disheartened by the current situation, but since we cannot guarantee we will be afforded the opportunity to come back together before the end of the summer, we must ensure you receive your diplomas and are officially recognized for your accomplishments.
Secondly, we are scheduling a live ceremony celebrating the graduates on July 24th at 6p.m. at Walsh Stadium (if allowed) where you as North Andover’s graduating class of 2020 can march in your caps and gowns to “Pomp & Circumstance”, have your names announced, cross the main stage and be honored as the 150th graduating class of NAHS in front of families and loved ones--the way it was supposed to be in the first place.
Winston Churchill said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” So, while none of the end of your beginning has been what you imagined or envisioned, and certainly is not what you hoped for, I am confident that you will look back on this someday with pride. Pride in the fact that you did what you always do, overcame another obstacle. Pride in the fact that you handled yourself with grace and grit and with respect and empathy for others. Pride in the fact that you proved yourselves yet again, and pride in the fact that you looked life dead in the eye and said, “We can take anything you can dish out!”
We can all hope that we never have to deal with this type of situation again, but I can tell you this, with this generation as our future leaders, I feel sorry for the next pandemic!
Dr. Gregg T. Gilligan, Superintendent