By Chris Paul
The Londonderry High School’s Adult Education Program held its Winter Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 5, bidding farewell to 21 graduates from Londonderry and Campbell high schools.
The program holds two ceremonies each year, one in the spring and the other during the winter. In each ceremony, some of the graduates also passed the HiSet, which is the New Hampshire High School Equivalency Test, a test that has replaced the GED.
The program’s Director and LHS Assistant Principal, Crystal Rich, was the event’s Master of Ceremonies and introduced the graduating class as they filed into the high school gymnasium.
After Rich made some opening remarks, Superintendent, Dan Black, and School Board Chair, Amy Finnamore, addressed graduates, family, and friends attending with some congratulatory remarks, which led into three student speakers.
Jessica Stewart, Rylee Baez-Law, and Cody Watson were asked to speak to fellow grads and their families. Each had an emotional story to share about their experiences with the program.
Rylee Baez-Law also took the stage that evening to sing “More Than a Band” from Disney’s “Lemonade Mouth” with piano accompaniment by LHS Music Teacher, Danielle Loschiavo.
Adult Education teacher, Jaclyn Hoffman, was asked to the stage as this year’s Staff Speaker.
Following that, a number of students were presented with Scholarships and Awards leading into the Presentation of Diplomas by Rich and School Counselor, Kaitlin Burkhardt.
The new graduates were greeted, hugged, and congratulated by school staff after receiving their diplomas before departing into the world as high school graduates.