Next Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. more than 450 Revere High School seniors will walk the stage at Harry Della Russo Stadium and receive their diplomas as part of the high school’s in-person graduation exercise.
Valedictorian Sydney Ciano, Salutatorian Viktoriya Kalinina and Class President Elijah Nater will join Revere Public School Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly and Revere High Principal Dr. John Perella in welcoming the graduates.
As part of the ceremony the school’s Poet Laureate Nina Cassinello will deliver a poem reflecting on the past year and the future as the Class of 2021 makes their way into the world and onto great futures.
“We are very proud of the class of 2021 and all of their accomplishments,†said Dr. Kelly. “Despite living through a pandemic for nearly half of their high school careers, these students have gone above and beyond to achieve their academic and life goals. All of them have bright futures in store. Many will move on to college or the military or jobs in ways that are very different from what they and their families envisioned. But we know they have prepared well and their families and teachers have supported them to ensure their success going forward. We wish them all the very best in life.â€
This year’s graduation will look a lot different than the graduation for the Class of 2020 last year during the height of the pandemic. Last year, the usual graduation exercises at Harry Della Russo Stadium were cancelled and graduation for seniors was pushed back to August. With COVID infections running high at the time the school opted for a ‘drive-by’ graduation in front of City Hall where the Class of 2020 picked up their diplomas during an afternoon-long car parade. While graduation will return to the stadium for the first time since 2019 it will be a minimized controlled event. Dr. Perella said the graduation will meet the needs of the students and families but will be limited.
Each student will be given two tickets for guests and administrators will be creating 18×11 ft. pods on the football field that will be spaced out accordingly to meet social distancing guidelines.
The stands themselves will provide seating for some dignitaries and faculty of the high school only, and there will be no exception to the two ticket rule.
While it will be a smaller ceremony it is sure to be a welcomed celebration of RHS seniors that spent part of the junior and senior years in remote-learning.
Dr. Perella said that RHS seniors have received more than $140,000 in local scholarships and many will receive other scholarships and financial aid from the colleges they plan to attend.
