Some in the sweltering AHS audience hid under umbrellas.

Graduation day 2008 at Arlington High School may be remembered for the heat, as School Cimmittee Chair Denise Burns suggested. In cooler moments, some may recall the flood of words from speeches. Below are addresses from four students.

John Reardon

Address from the president of the Student Council                                   

As we gather here on this afternoon, we begin to reflect on the past as we always do, and think about the future as we always will.  And many people say that years from now when we reflect on the past, we will remember these years as the best years of our lives. 

Now, whether this holds true and we have already experienced the best moments of ours lives, or whether the best years are yet to come and high school was merely a preparation for what lies ahead, time will only tell. One thing that is for sure is that Arlington High School has given us many great memories and years from now as we look back at our high school days we probably will be overcome with feelings of nostalgia for the days when we could skip fourth period to go to Anna’s Taqueria or events such as the Senior Cruise and Proms and the other nights we could enjoy with just the company of friends. 

And now, as we look to the future we realize just how much Arlington High has done for us. There are 286 students graduating here today.  260 will be furthering their education at the next level.   14 will be entering America’s work force.  8 will be participating in a gap year program and 4 will be joining the military.

AHS has prepared each and every one of us for the path that we have chosen to lead in our futures.

At Arlington High, we have matured, we have formed identities, and we have learned what it takes to become successful.

And although we will be leading different lives, we all share Arlington High School in common. We have all learned how to use the data bases in the media center on countless occasions due to the dedication of Ms. Ogilve, and if you don’t know how to use the data base then I question your right to be here graduating today. 

We have all been denied the opportunity to use the bathroom because it is always locked. And we have all been yelled at by Ms. Kirkland at lunch. 

These aspects of Arlington High School have helped form a strong community that will prepare us for what lies ahead. When we enter the real world we will be required to deal with all different types of people.  With Arlington being a middle class town and Arlington High School being a public school we have had the opportunity to be in an environment that is full of cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and academic diversity.

This class is as diverse as the ever changing colors of the paper on which our work sheets are given due to the shortages of the traditional plain white paper,  and having the opportunity to learn in this atmosphere has made us better prepared for the tasks and challenges that will come with the future.

So, as we depart from Arlington High School, we remember what it has done for us and what we have done for each other, and as we continue with our lives we’ll remember how much fun we actually had here and all the memories that we’ve made here. 

So now I will leave you with a quote by Arie Pencovici: “Graduation is only a concept.  In real life every day you graduate.  Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.  If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.”

Thank you very much and congratulations to the class of 2008.