Summer students in graduation spotlight

By Tessa Roy
Posted 8/30/16

Evan Adams used to fear he would not graduate from high school. But on Thursday morning, the 19-year-old received his Pilgrim High diploma.

“I’m excited. I didn’t think it would happen,” …

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Summer students in graduation spotlight

Posted

Evan Adams used to fear he would not graduate from high school. But on Thursday morning, the 19-year-old received his Pilgrim High diploma.

“I’m excited. I didn’t think it would happen,” Adams said, adding that he hopes to eventually work at Electric Boat.

Adams and nine of his Warwick Public School peers gathered at Toll Gate High School to graduate and receive sendoffs from their administrators. The students were decked out in caps and gowns of their school colors and entered the auditorium to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance.” Toll Gate Principal Stephen F. Chrabaszcz compared the efforts of the students to those of Olympic athletes and said graduating late was not cause for disappointment.

“It took me five years to get through high school because I thought I knew it all,” he told the crowd of students and family members.

Gerry Habershaw, Pilgrim High School principal, echoed Chrabaszcz’s sentiments and urged graduates to aim high for their futures.

“Do not let this be the last piece of paper you get…get something else. Figure out what you want to do with your life and go for it,” he advised.

Emotions as well as inspiration ran high as administrators said goodbye to students they had mentored. Since this graduation was significantly smaller, the ceremony took less than half an hour. Administrators had the chance to tell stories about each graduate, demonstrating the close relationships they had built throughout the school years.

“These boys are family,” said Pamela Bernardi, who was acting Pilgrim principal last year. She called graduate Devon Hall, 18, “basically my birth child.”

“I was a tough student,” says Hall with a laugh. “But Mrs. Bernardi and I have a good relationship.” He hopes New England Tech will be his next step.

Warwick Veterans graduate Cory O’Rourke, 17, is also planning for his future and is proud of his accomplishment.

“It’s a great day. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I wasn’t able to get [my diploma] in June but I’m here now so it’s a nice feeling,” he says. O’Rourke is thinking about joining the military, but will continue working for now. His grandmother, Lois Cerrito, raves about his work ethic, saying he thrives at his current job at Warwick Poultry.

“He’s a really hard worker and he loves it. Once he does get a career, you know he’ll do well,” Cerrito says with a smile.

Plenty of family members like Cerrito were at the ceremony to support their graduates. After the mini procession, attendees caught up with each other in the Toll Gate cafeteria for cake, hugs, laughs and thank yous.

The summer graduates were the following students: from Pilgrim, Evan Adams, Brandon Balcom, Michael Kane, Austin Gadoury and Devon Hall; from Toll Gate, Noah Evan Hunt, Ryan F. Jennings (not in attendance), and Joshua Regan Powers; from Warwick Veterans, Darian Andrande, Thomas DiMauro (not in attendance), Brandon Goss, Peter LaPorte (not in attendance), Cory O’Rourke, Ryan Nehiley (not in attendance) and Cory Vittner (not in attendance).

Comments

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  • richardcorrente

    More proud graduates!

    More effort from the teachers!

    And still no contracts? That is a sin.

    Who is to blame? The teachers? No! They are willing to sit and negotiate.

    The School committee? Yes.

    Anyone else? ( the taxpayers, the parents, the students, the man-in-the-moon)? No!

    We can't let this go on. Everyone! Call the members of the School Committee. Urge them to "Talk!"

    Not necessarily agree, just talk to the teachers.

    Their inaction is so unfair to us all. I won't forget that. You shouldn't either.

    Welcome back students, and good luck because "luck" is what the School Committee is counting on.

    Richard Corrente

    Endorsed Democrat for Mayor

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    The preceding comment is a political statement by a candidate who would otherwise have to pay for his message to be printed in the Warwick Beacon newspaper. This candidate does not care that the students in this article achieved great things with the support of their families and dedicated teachers, except to advance his political agenda.

    Here are some facts that this candidate will not share with you:

    The teachers union and school committee are in an arbitration process that also includes ongoing court hearings, meaning the contract will be determined by independent arbitrators and lawyers, and not negotiated between the parties. A recent Beacon article explained that the union president stated a demand for 10-percent raises every year for three years during a recent meeting, which derailed any further discussion: http://warwickonline.com/stories/thornton-wtu-trade-barbs-over-teacher-offers,112112?

    That same article states the school committee offered raises of 2, 2.5, and 3 percent over three years, which the union denied, and Supt. Phil Thornton is quoted as saying that he and the school committee "want the public to know the school committee is attempting to hold serious and sincere negotiations with the union leadership and thus far have not seen the same from the other side of the negotiations table.”

    Join the rest of us in Warwick who are not fooled by this candidate.

    Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear "CrickeeRaven,

    Your first statement is 100% accurate! I have spent thousands in the Beacon and I agree with you that these comments are free advertising to a certain extent. I want the voters to know they will be electing a Mayor that will spend their tax dollars wisely and these free comments are a perfect example. Thanks for pointing that out.

    Your second statement is one that you should be ashamed of. I have never once failed to applaud the students in any of the dozens of congratulatory articles I have commented on. You however, never congratulate the students, not even once. You only use the opportunity to attack me hiding behind a fake name, which you like to dress up by calling it a pseudonym. Be honest. You have an agenda that is so distasteful that you can't even identify yourself with it publicly. You just don't have the courage.

    The teachers deserve a new contract. How much they should be paid is between them and the School Committee, but the truth is that the teachers are willing to sit and negotiate and the SC refuses. That is the truth stated by a person who has always been honest and clear about his "political agenda".

    Unlike you who hide in anonymity making comments (that you call facts!) that you can't be held responsible for because no one knows who you are.

    Interesting that your phony name combines a cricket and a raven instead of anything with a classier, more respected image. Is that how you envision yourself?

    Oh, one more thing. You ended with "Join the rest of us in Warwick who are not fooled by this candidate." No one has been fooled by me because, unlike the current Mayor, my platform is clear and over a thousand readers have visited my website at www.correntemayorwarwick.com. There is even a place to make comments. Feel free CrickeeRaven.

    Happy Labor Day Weekend!

    Richard Corrente

    Endorsed Democrat for Mayor

    Thursday, September 1, 2016 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    In the above comment, a candidate for office is trying to impose and uphold standards of use for a website that he neither owns nor controls. He is continuing to use free comment boards to post campaign messages that he has otherwise paid to have printed in the Warwick Beacon, including one in the "Spotlight on Business" section to publish a political advertisement.

    He is also seeking to remain unchallenged in his statements -- several of which have already been proven false -- by bullying other users.

    Join the rest of us who see through this candidate's behavior, and avoid engaging him directly.

    Instead, read this article about his false attacks: http://warwickpost.com/correntes-attacks-fail-on-the-facts/

    Thursday, September 1, 2016 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Rick, how many Warwick seniors will be eligible to have 50% of their car taxes paid? How many veterans are there in Warwick driving vehicles? If you can't answer either question how do you know what this will cost?

    Your website says you will"reduce salaries for new hires" yet the next line says "I want a hiring freeze". Which one is it? You can't have it both ways and say you are"cutting spending". That is just old time double speak at its best.

    You say your plans "will pay a little more now for alot more later" yet you can't identify what anything will cost. How do you know you can raise enough revenue to offset these plans?

    You criticize CrickeeRaven yet you never answer ANY of his questions. What is your response to the fact that your taxes haven't tripled as you have repeatedly said? Maybe when you answer some actual, tough questions people will respond better to your plans.

    Thursday, September 1, 2016 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Hello again, Scal1024.

    Thank you for joining me in insisting that this candidate for mayor of Warwick should be able to answer questions posed to him on a forum that he uses almost exclusively for promoting his political campaign. And thank you for continuing to seek answers from this candidate, even as he attempts to bully users of this site into adhering to standards that he has neither the ownership stake nor the management authority to moderate.

    Since you are one the many people in Warwick who see through this candidate's clear attempts to mislead voters, it may also interest you to know that this candidate has repeatedly claimed a loss of more than 4,600 businesses from Warwick based on a fraudulent comparison between US Census numbers and data from the RI Secretary of State. According to the US Census, Warwick had 8,410 firms listed in 2007. Data from the Census for 2012 showed 8,299 firms, or 111 fewer.

    http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/4474300

    Scroll down to Businesses and view the "all firms" statistic.

    This candidate clearly assumes that voters in Warwick will not look into the facts for themselves. Thank you for joining the rest of us in showing him that we will, and can, and do, research his claims and find the truth.

    Thursday, September 1, 2016 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    A prior comment by the Democratic candidate for mayor stated "over a thousand readers have visited my website."

    An examination of this claim showed that the "web counter" on the website records each page viewed as a new visitor, making it a fraudulent method of counting visitors and proving this candidate's statement to be false.

    Please join me and the thousands of Warwick voters who do not support this candidate.

    Friday, September 2, 2016 Report this

  • Scal1024

    If you look at archived articles when Stacia was running in the primary, you will see that I correctly predicted the amount of votes she would need to win. Somebody said if she has 2,600 votes she'd win. I said it would take 3,000+ votes. Rick can complain about what we say, but at the end of the day CrickeeRaven we are correct in our analysis. The truth hurts Rick, the people of this city see right through your campaign.

    Fast forward to now....Rick has been talking about all the overwhelming support he's receiving. By his own admission he has spent thousands on ads in the Beacon. If someone running for office can spend thousands on newspaper ads (in what is considered a dying industry) for such little results, is it not fair to ask how reckless that spending would be as mayor? Mr Corrente has raved on this site about steak, and an open bar fundraiser. Hold on to your wallets folks this "steward" of tighter spending has a funny way of showing it.

    Rick, why haven't you answered ANY questions posed to you? If I was the mayor I wouldn't consider debating you. You can't answer any tough questions, you've been running for what seems like 4 years yet your plans have no specifics or substance, and all you do is lob unfair, negative attacks which are mostly baseless. I'm sure you'll pass on commenting here so that you can spin nonsense about the school committee, mayor or whatever conspiracy theories/false numbers you throw out today.

    Friday, September 2, 2016 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Hello Scal1024:

    I happen to recall your predictions during the 2014 campaign, and you were proven correct. Props to you, as the common phrase goes.

    Like you, I find it curious that a candidate for mayor of Warwick would so frequently post questionable statements on this website and bully other users when they oppose him.

    An example appears in this comment thread: "the teachers are willing to sit and negotiate and the SC refuses."

    As has been explained on several occasions, the teachers union leadership and school administration are far beyond the point of negotiating a contract, and are instead engaged in arbitration and litigation. Were he better informed, this candidate would understand that, while rank-and-file teachers with whom he claims to speak may wish for a negotiated contract, the fact is that these teachers are represented by union leadership who, among other things, recently issued a demand for a 30-percent salary increase over three years. As a recent Beacon article explained, this is not in dispute, either by union leadership or the school department's assigned negotiator.

    Nonetheless, this candidate continues to falsely assert that the wishes of unnamed teachers should determine the outcome of the current contract situation, in spite of their membership in a union that represents them for collective bargaining purposes -- and to again intimidate other users for employing pseudonyms.

    And as you note, this candidate has been completely silent in response to your repeated questions for clarification on his campaign claims; you will likewise recall that he has not responded in any way to information that wholly belies his claims of unfair increases in the city's valuation of his properties and the changes in Warwick's business sector.

    His response, to employ a popular colloquialism, has been "crickets."

    Would you agree that this is curious behavior for a candidate who questions the "courage" of other users?

    Whether this candidate ultimately decides to acknowledge the facts that have proven his claims false is, to be honest, beside the point. You and many other readers are seeking and finding the truth behind this candidate's statements, and are ensuring that more people can read and share the facts.

    Thank you for joining me and the thousands of voters in Warwick who see through this candidate's efforts to mislead them.

    Saturday, September 3, 2016 Report this