Schools

North Haven Class of '12 Readies for the 'Unknown'

The North Haven High School class of 2012 says goodbye at Thursday's graduation ceremony.

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Hot weather may have forced the graduation into the gymnasium, but the 300 or so students who received their diploma were undeterred as they bid farewell to the school.

Superintendent Robert Cronin told the class of 2012 that he hopes their education was more than academic.

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“We hope we’ve taught you to be just and fair when dealing with others,” he said.

The crowded auditorium – and particularly the students – erupted in applause when valedictorian Emily Carroll approached the podium. She sold of three fortunes that can be applied to the graduates’ lives as they move from “the known to the unknown.”

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The first she read was, “Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to simple.“

Carroll added, “With all the distractions we face today, life can get very busy. I hope that each of us can find a balance.”

Wes O’Brien, vice chairman of the North Haven Board of Education, said that the majority of graduates are moving on to college and that they shouldn’t listen to people who might scoff at their prospective majors – even if the area of study isn’t particularly lucrative.

“The fact is that problem solving is a job skill. Critical thinking is a job skill. Writing is a job skill. Verbal and visual literacy are job skills. And the ability to learn is the most important job skill of all,” O’Brien said. “All of those degrees – including liberal arts – will prepare you with those kind of skills.”


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