Graduation time…

June is graduation month, the time to celebrate achievement. Students across the Northwest Corner are receiving diplomas and celebrating with their families and friends as they mark this rite of passage. Who can count how many photos are being snapped by iPhones clutched in the hands of proud parents and grandparents?

The next step for these graduates is more learning—college, high school, trade school or on-the-job training.

As we have done in the past, in last week’s edition we celebrated the graduates from Housatonic Valley Regional High School by running class photos of everyone. This week, right on schedule, we report on the ceremony under the big tent as those high school seniors say goodbye to HVHRS. Not to be overlooked, our reporters also attended graduation ceremonies at North Canaan Elementary School, Salisbury Central School, Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village, Sharon Center School, Cornwall Consolidated School and Kent Center School, where eighth graders stepped up. This fall, many of them will navigate the bigger landscape at HVRHS. For others, a private high school may be the next destination.

The community always has embraced this June graduation tradition. Our many organizations and foundations have been generously contributed to furthering the education of our youth. This year, approximately $420,000 worth of scholarships has been awarded to Housy graduates. Think about it, almost half a million dollars.

For all the graduates, these weeks in June become a milestone in their educational lives, a time when they store up memories from their primary and secondary school years to be recalled  in the years ahead, whether on occasions with friends or at the recurring school reunions.

…And a tragedy

Tragically this year, the Class of 2023 lost one of its own after a car accident the day after graduation.

Brandon Chiacchia, 18, from Kent, was described by HVRHS Principal Ian Strever as a “kind-hearted friend and a cherished member of our school family whose academic interests spanned across every department.”

Strever said the school’s counseling team and support staff are available to provide comfort and guidance to any student, teacher, or parent who may need assistance.

The Underclass Awards Ceremony, scheduled for Monday, June 19, was postponed until the start of the 2023-24 school year “out of respect for the family.”

The Lakeville Journal joins Strever and the entire school community in mourning the loss of this member of the school community.