Haverhill School Superintendent James F. Scully.
As members of the Haverhill High School (HHS) class of 2016 look toward college or other future endeavors, school administrators will recall their achievements such as having the greatest number of “prestigious” college-bound graduates in years.
Haverhill High commencement Friday evening at Trinity Stadium will continue a long-held tradition with the class valedictorian as commencement speaker, according to Superintendent of Schools James F. Scully. He told WHAV the various colleges which accepted class members, including “more challenging” Ivy League institutions, is “about the best menu they’ve had at Haverhill High in the past 10 years.”
“Two students are going to the true meaning of the word, Ivy League—one is going to Harvard and the other is going to Princeton. We have students who have been accepted at Williams, Georgetown, (California) Polytech, Notre Dame, Boston College, Holy Cross, along with a number of state colleges and institutions,” Scully said.
Scully added the public should also be proud of the class and the high school’s recent accomplishments, including those of several athletes who gained college scholarship as members of newly-created Haverhill Hillies crew and gymnastics teams. He credited the leadership of HHS Principal Beth Kitsos.
“The offerings at the high school have increased dramatically under Mrs. Kitsos’s leadership. And I’m not bragging and trying to boast her, but the reality is she has brought a lot to the high school, more offerings in the academic area and in the athletic area. And as a result, the proof is in the numbers, the success stories are out there,” Scully said. “What I feel bad, as superintendent, is that a lot of the community don’t know that and even some elected officials don’t realize the successes that go on in our schools. And that hurts because there are a lot of good kids.”
The commencement, which begins at 6 p.m., Friday, features class valedictorian Benjamin A. Roy as senior speaker, as well as messages by class president Aubrie T. Campbell, Kitsos, Scully, School Committee President Maura L. Ryan-Ciardiello and Mayor James J. Fiorentini. All Saints Parish Reverend Timothy Kearney provides the benediction during the graduation ceremony. Kitsos and Fiorentini will present diplomas to the graduates.
Graduating seniors will receive four tickets for field seating and there is unlimited seating in the stands, according to the school department.