25 Year Tradition Lives On At Wahconah High School
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In a series of event for the parents, the boys danced with their mothers and the girls with their fathers. |
DALTON, Mass. — No school in Berkshire County shows their graduating seniors how much they love and care for them the way Wahconah High School has for the last 25 years.
On Friday, the entire school community joined together for the 25th annual senior assembly, a four-hour long presentation that makes the seniors cheer, laugh and cry.
"It is a tradition about caring and community. This is a gift for everybody," Charles Bradshaw, who has headed the effort every year, said earlier in the week. "Its about love. There is no getting around it."
While the title 'senior assembly' may not explain what the event entails, the way a former Warrior's eyes light up and the smile on their face when they hear those words does.
"Memories are so much more valuable than material things," Bradshaw said. "When you are 17, you don't always understand that."
It is a presentation led by teachers and put on by the junior class, who give their hard work for nearly a year as a present to the graduating seniors and their parents. It mixes song, dance, acting, slideshows, speeches and music into a program the students will never forget.
"As president of the class of 1990, I'm glad some things haven't gone away," Joseph Lucas told the class of 2013 to open Friday's assembly. "You will never forget this day. Cherish it."
Lucas was the first junior class to head the effort for those who graduated in 1989. He remembers the class thinking "it was a lot of work" and unsure about doing it.
"It could have been a disaster," Bradshaw said. "But we did it and it worked so well that it became a tradition."
The idea was crafted by Bradshaw more than 40 years ago as a young teacher in Ludlow. He watched the multitude of formal presentations during senior week events and he wanted to give something to else to the class.
"I just felt there was some missing link on a personal level," Bradshaw said.
For 17 years he ran the program in Ludlow. Each summer he thinks of a new theme, which is kept hidden from the seniors until the assembly, and spends months outlining the script. Every fall he pulls together a steering committee of teachers and some 30 juniors to turn the script into a full program.
"The juniors really take it and run with it," Bradshaw said. "They do the whole thing."
After his first four years at Wahconah, he asked the administration to support putting on the assembly. On Friday, the class of 2013 became the 25th to receive the gift in front of their parents, alumni, the sophomore class and school staff.
This year's program kicked off on a somber note. In a patriotic presentation of video clips and the junior class hoisting up flags for every 50 states, Nolan Smith, president of the 2006 class, asked for a moment of silence to remember his classmate Army Spec. Mitchell Daehling, who was recently killed while serving in Afghanistan.
Smith described Daehling as "fearless" and told a story of him jumping off the highest cliffs at Wahconah Falls. The Daehling family was invited to the honor but could not make it because of a separate memorial scheduled in Texas. But they sent in a letter, thanking the school and saying the support has "helped the family" and keeps Daehling's memory alive.
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The teachers put on a skit pretending to act like members of the senior class. |
The program then switched to an upbeat note when graduating seniors Brandyn Cesan and Gabby Lavinio performed a medley of Eva Cassidy songs and the teachers got the full auditorium laughing when they performed a skit in which they pretended to be members of the class. The teachers teased the seniors with the imitations of how those students would act on "prancing with the stars."
The skit was one of two - the other by the junior class - to "roast" the members of the class.
The senior class then presented an excellence in teaching award to Mary O'Donnell. School Committee member John Connor, who grew up with O'Donnell, shared stories of their youth and felt she fully deserved the honor.
"We have the best kids. This is just the greatest place to work," O'Donnell said, adding that there "isn't a lot that leaves me speechless."
From there, a series of presentations focused on the parents - again leaving few dry eyes in the auditorium.
After playing a music video, two dances were held - one where the fathers danced with their graduating daughters and the other with the mother dancing with their sons. Senior Ryan Blessing then pulled out his acoustic guitar and with his mother, Nancy Blessing, played the song 'Dancing Away with my Heart' by Lady Antebellum before the traditional distribution of letter.
Early in each school year the seniors are asked to write letter to their parents thanking them, those letter are distributed during the ceremony.
"The seniors all write letter to their parents, thanking them for whatever reason," Bradshaw said, adding that the letters are optional. "Almost all of the kids wrote letters."
After again eliciting tears, the program moved back to a happier note. Jeremy Reiner, who was in the first class to have a senior assembly put on for them and is now a meteorologist in Boston, delivered a keynote address with both humor and seriousness.
"There is going to be failure along this path. But that's OK," Reiner said before reading off a list of negative comments he has heard during his career.
He challenged the students to ignore the negative comments but remember those people's whose advice will help — and he thanked Bradshaw for being one of those people who helped him — and to live out their lives with passion.
The junior class then put on their skit, aping the graduates conversations and actions on the way to a dance. Then senior Walter Burmer serenaded his class with his acoustic guitar by singing "I'm Still Dancing With You" by Wade Hayes, which Burner dedicated to his classmates.
Teacher Shawn Therrien then presented a special hero award to Michelle Furlong, who has choreographed the final dance at the assembly for the last 16 years. Class of 2013 President Timothy Wagner then became the 25th president to place a class tassel on a mortarboard, which was then passed to Junior Class President Dominic Carnevale, who will pass it to the class of 2015 next year.
With a finale of video, music, dancing and the presentation of gift bags for each senior, the class of 2013 left the auditorium for the last time as a group.
The seniors will graduate on Sunday and this summer Bradshaw will go back to thinking of a theme and writing the script, as he has done for Wahconah students 25 times before. But, Bradshaw is approaching age 70 and every year in the last decade he has considered retiring. His hope is that when he does, this Wahconah tradition continues on.
"I hope somebody will keep doing this," Bradshaw said. "Every one of them have been special."
Tags: graduation, graduation 2013, school event, Wahconah,
