Officials, students forecast stormy times ahead for Hurricanes

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 6/23/15

Warwick Veterans Memorial’s salutatorian, Sarah Grace Plante, began her speech by saying, “There are incredible storms everywhere.”

She said storms aren’t just thunder and lighting; they …

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Officials, students forecast stormy times ahead for Hurricanes

Posted

Warwick Veterans Memorial’s salutatorian, Sarah Grace Plante, began her speech by saying, “There are incredible storms everywhere.”

She said storms aren’t just thunder and lighting; they can be political or economic and like the Earthquake in Nepal, “they can move mountains.”

During the 2015 Commencement ceremony two storms came together, the storm that is consolidation of schools, and everyone in the Vets community, the Hurricanes.

In what will most likely be one of the last Vets graduations, student and administrative speakers alike called not only the graduates, but also the whole audience to action. [As part of school consolidation in response to declining enrollments, the School Committee has voted to close Gorton and Aldrich Junior High Schools and re-purpose Vets as a middle school. According to the timeline, next year would be Vets’ last as a high school.]

Plante said there are three people in the world, those who “make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

She encouraged her fellow graduates to be those who make things happen and reminded them that seemingly “ordinary people, doing ordinary things can make extraordinary change.”

Principal Gerry Habershaw noted that the class of 2015 is already making change, and he has “never been more proud of a class.”

The 188 students helped to raise NECAP test scores, excelled in athletics, academics, and volunteerism.

Most importantly, he said, the class showed extreme school spirit for Vets, especially last year as they “emotionally fought to keep our school open.”

Habershaw said consolidation is “inevitable” and it will impact Vets, but students shouldn’t let it diminish their accomplishment as graduates.

“I do not want our students to feel that our school is being discarded by city officials because we have a bad school,” Habershaw said. “At Warwick Veterans, we have implemented educational initiatives well before the educational experts brought them forward as an idea.”

Vets’ fate was “predetermined” said Habershaw based on its location in the city.

He told the graduates to proudly declare where they received their diplomas and the entire student body responded by shouting “Vets” several times before ending in riotous applause.

Superintendent Richard D’Agostino, in his final graduation as superintendent, did not bring up his own retirement nor school consolidation while he addressed the students.

Rather, he said it was time for students to “fly solo” and warned them that their education is ever changing, always evolving, but that it will always be important.

“We know what you can do; the question is what will you do,” D’Agostino questioned. D’Agostino is retiring next month after serving Warwick schools for 33 years.

School Committee member Karen Bachus echoed similar sentiments saying that despite being a “commencement,” this is just the beginning for graduates and they “are on the precipice of a life of their own creation.”

Her speech made a quick turn when she brought up the school consolidation and how she had fought to keep Vets open.

Council President Donna Travis made a surprise visit to the podium saying the same that she and Bachus had fought for Vets during the consolidation talks.

Bachus even had a “special message” for the parents in the room to get more involved.

“Things are changing in this city and now more than ever we need to hear your voice. For the health and strength of our schools going forward, don’t give up on our schools,” she said.

Valedictorian Christopher Defreitas, with the final speech of the evening, spoke volumes and calmed a few of the storms.

“You all should be extremely proud of yourselves when you cross the stage tonight,” he said. “In my eyes we will always be hurricanes.”

Comments

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  • Marccomtois

    Commence: begin or start

    Bachus, as quoted/paraphrased - despite being a [beginning or start], this is just the beginning for graduates....

    Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she knows how to play to the crowd along with Travis(ty).

    Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    We're down to 188 graduating seniors but No, we don't need consolidation. Ms. Bachus' apparent confusion about the nature of "commencement" perfectly captures the status of the Warwick public schools and it's 'leadership'.

    Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Report this

  • jackiemama63

    Crackpots.

    Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Report this

  • RonPaul

    Thats half of my class back in 1991. Guess it is time to close the school. So sad that both schools that i went to will no longer exist

    Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Report this

  • genereux

    No one said that consolidation should not happen. Please take a moment, attend school committee meetings and get involved. The vote that Bachus took was for a combined jr/sr high model and still required the closing of schools. Now that the plan is approved the community needs to be the voice of how the lines for the new high school districts will be drawn. How will your morning commute be impacted by increased busing? How much money with the plan require? Come to the meetings and find out. Follow the words of a wise Vet's graduate, Plante said there are three people in the world, those who “make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

    Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    "No one said consolidation should not happen"...? No one? A vocal minority has been saying just that for years. Remember the candle light vigils and sign waving? Sit tight, they'll be back. Why do you think we're in the current situation? No one in this caldron of pathology wants to lose their little fiefdom or make a professional decision. The school committee, the one with whom we should "get involved", has been told for decades that this was coming and responded by sitting on their collective hands. Even when they were told 18 months ago to close Gorton and Aldrich and make Vets a middle school, they punted and took the cowardly act of hiding behind a consultant. Many, many thousands of taxpayer dollars later, we're back to exactly where we were 18 months ago. The city's enrollment is a function of it's relative attractiveness to education consumers. There is no leadership, there is no pride, and there is no courage. Kids lose, teachers lose, and parents lose. The only winners are Prout, LaSalle, and Hendricken who are watching with gleeful disbelief as this tragic comedy continues to unfold.

    Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Report this

  • genereux

    As the lead player against the closure of Vets I may know a bit about candle light vigils although that never happened. Some of us understand the inside politics and some look from outside and pass judgment. Bachus defended her position and fully understands the meaning of commencement as a beginning for these students. Why not get to a meeting and figure out the real issues behind consolidation. Or better yet, introduce yourself to me at the next school committee meeting in July? If you have so much to say on a website maybe you could contribute in the real world and help to make our school system the best it can be

    Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Report this

  • patientman

    Did the student that quoted Mary Kay Ash cite her as the originator of the quote? I hope the valedictorian of our schools would know to cite the quotes author. It would have been great if she had rattled off a few Lincoln and JFK quotes as her own. Too funny

    Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Report this

  • RonPaul

    The blame goes to the politicians and unions. RI is not a friendly enviroment for families or businesses so they just packed up and left. Everyone complains but they keep voting the same idiots into office. Why do you think the number of kids went from 20K down to 9K??? Time to close the schools and move on.

    Thursday, June 25, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    genereux: You know, you're right. Many of us don't "understand the inside politics". Understanding the inside politics of local public education is hardly a badge of honor, especially since most who do not understand it are already underwriting this idiocy. In my "real world", and that of most others, people get fired for incompetence, not re-elected. Only in public education is the obvious made to sound complicated. It's really not very hard to figure out. Those with means have either left Warwick, or abandoned a once-stellar system of public schools. And one of the beauties of being a taxpayer is that you get to pass judgment on those elected to public office. I am deeply committed to the education of Warwick's children, and have been for over 30 years. That is, in no way, synonymous with support of a decaying system of government-run education. 188 graduating seniors at Vets? Either enrollment is plummeting even more than we've been made aware, or a large number of seniors at Vets lacked the academic qualifications for graduation. You pick, because I'm sure the real answer will never see the light of day.

    Thursday, June 25, 2015 Report this