Volume 20, Number 7
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, July 3, 2015
Different day and venue for Class of 2015 By Mark Dionne
Town Times
The powerful thunderstorm that took down trees, blocked roads, and left the entire town of Durham without power took place on Tuesday, June 23, the same day as Coginchaug Regional High School Class of 2015’s scheduled graduation ceremony. Using social media and the emergency notification systems, administrators canceled the ceremony scheduled for the Julian Thayer Auditorium, the traditional location, and went searching for an alternative place and time. One day later, on June 24, under a beautifully clear sky, the CRHS Class of 2015 graduated on Wesleyan University’s Andrus Field in Middletown. Multiple speakers made well-received jokes about the storm and the switch. Valedictorian Tyler McDonald thanked the storm for giving him time to finish his speech. CRHS principal Brian Falcone said of the seniors, “Since the Washington, D.C. trip, they’ve been bothering me about an outdoor graduation.” Standing on the marble steps used for Wesleyan’s
Carlie Michelle Arnold has a front row seat for the Coginchaug Regional High School graduation ceremony on June 23. own graduations, Superintendent of Schools Kathryn Veronesi told the class that they were lucky. Most students spend a lot more money to get a diploma in this setting. While detailing the accomplishments of the Class of 2015, Falcone noted that five members of the class will be joining some form of military service and asked them to stand and be recognized. In
CRHS Class of 2015 enter their graduation ceremony around Wesleyan’s Olin Library. See more photos online at towntimes.com and inside on Page 5. | Photos by Mark Dionne / Town Times Coginchaug’s auditorium, the graduating students would be facing the audience. Reconfigured at Wesleyan, the five students were facing the podium instead of the audience. “Turn around, guys,” Falcone told the students so they could witness their standing ovation. The ceremony contained the usual elements, just relocated. The Brass Choir played
and the senior class provided two performances. Natalie Charette played “Arabesque #1” by Claude Debussy on piano and senior members of the show choir sang “You Raise Me Up.” Some of the speakers cut their prepared remarks short and the program was slightly juggled to make sure the outdoor ceremony concluded before sunset. Otherwise,
the ceremony appeared like it was planned for that time and venue. Class salutatorian Nathaniel Weir noted that many speakers used a gimmick and got his – juggling – out of the way early. Weir spoke about juggling as an example of learning through trial and error and of human unSee Graduation / Page 5
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