Sunday, June 6th, 2021 6:30 p.m. – John Hollingsworth Field
Josh Bedingfield – RMHS Class President
We did it! Graduates, Families, Friends, Teachers, and School Faculty, today is a good day.
So! We’ve come a long way since Tiger King, huh? Since make-pretend calisthenic workouts, and wiping down every grocery store item with clorox wipes, until we ran out of those, and realized we ran out of toilet paper too, and there was no way of getting any more. I remember standing in the Stop and Shop line on March 13th, 2020, and the guy next to me in line said “Hey kid, you weren’t around for the blizzard of ‘78, it was way worse than this guy.” True story. Maybe he was right… I wasn’t their guy. [Read More]
Tanya Manoj – RMHS Salutary Address
Good evening class of 2021, family members, and staff.
We have experienced a lot together from freshman orientation, being fully zoomed out this past year, and at long last our well-deserved senior celebrations – congrats!
As I was writing this speech, I reflected on what we all have in common – is it living in the same town? Is it our shared high school experiences? Is it our resilience in the face of the unexpected? All of these things are true, but what I am most proud of is our class’s deep passion for our individual communities and commitment to make a difference in them.
Over the years, the class of 2021 has found the people and pursuits that we care about most. Many of us joined student organizations, such as drama club, robotics, movie club, or sports teams. While outside of school, others immersed themselves in jobs or family responsibilities. As I look around at all of the graduates, everyone spent their time in high school on different endeavors and within different microcosms in Reading. But by identifying our individual passions, we have found communities to nurture. [Read More]
Joanna Coram – RMHS Valedictory Address
Good evening. Most of us in the class of 2021 are legally and socially considered adults now, and those who aren’t yet will be soon enough. It’s common to hear “grow up” and “act your age,” and although we still have a few years before our brains are considered fully developed, people expect more from us than ever before. They want us to show our responsibility and maturity because we’re not children anymore. We’ve grown past that.
We see young children as the prime example of immaturity. Pushing people on the playground, making up silly games, treating toys and stuffed animals with devotion— that was childish, wasn’t it?
And then we all got to middle school. Playing tag at recess turned to taking selfies in the bathroom at lunch and then hoping you’d get tagged in something because being “it” meant you were involved and people were running to you, not away. Dressing fashionably, having a nice new phone, maybe even having a significant other at the age of twelve meant you were so grown up and cool. Knowing who you were with respect to the cliques forming around you was a sign of maturity. Staying in your own lane and sticking to people “like you” meant you knew what was up. [Read More]
Kathleen Boynton – RMHS Principal’s Address
RMHS Class of 2021, I am so – so happy to be here with you this evening to celebrate and honor you. You have faced many challenges and struggles over the past year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic and have missed out on many traditional high school milestones. Yet through it, all you have remained strong, have demonstrated true resilience and a fierce tenacity. Our in-person Prom and Field Day (two amazing events) are a testament to this. Those were amazing events! A huge Thank you to our class office, advisors, and parents for making these events happen!
You have also exhibited empathy, deep care for others, and a commitment to service and social justice. You built desks for classrooms, collected books to donate to libraries, donated much-needed food to local pantries and shelters, collected sneakers for those in need, and donated essential personal care items for veterans. You participated in sports, music, drama, and other clubs and activities remotely and in-person wearing masks with gusto and enthusiasm – finding sheer joy at being able to interact with your classmates and do something you love no matter the platform. Finally, you took on the Herculean task of learning in remote and hybrid circumstances with grace and maturity – may you NEVER have to experience a Zoom class lesson ever again! [Read More]
Dr. John Doherty – Superintendent’s Address
Members of the Reading School Committee, Principal Boynton, Faculty, Fellow Administrators, Distinguished Guests, Community Members, but most importantly, members of the Class of 2021 and their proud families and friends, both virtual and here in person, it is with great pride that I address and congratulate all of this year’s Reading seniors- those of you who met the graduation requirements here at the high school and those who attended schools out of our district. As collective members of the Reading Public Schools, each of you have reached a vital milestone in your life. You have earned our congratulations and recognition and now you are ready to make your own imprint on the world.
Your class story has been the bookend story of the class of 2020. Where the class of 2020 had the last four months of their school year remote with very few activities, you started the school year remote, moved through two phases of hybrid learning, and then to full in person with many activities and traditions celebrated. You have endured attending Zoom classes, wearing face masks, and learning how to speak and understand “mask language”. Hand sanitizing, drinking bottled water, participating in pool testing, being quarantined, staying 6 feet apart from others, walking in one direction, driving yourself to games, virtual concerts, and shows, and finally, vaccines became the norm as the school year went on. You have been resilient, persistent, and realized that some things are not worth getting upset about. This journey has been extremely unusual, a learning experience, and certainly one you will always remember. [Read More]
Colleges the Class of 2021 Will Be Attending
American University
Assumption College
Auburn University
Belmont University
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology Bentley University
Boston College
Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Bridgewater State University
Bryant University
Bunker Hill Community College
Champlain College
Clemson University
Coastal Carolina University
Colby College
Colgate University
College of Charleston
College of the Holy Cross
Cornell University
Dickinson College
Eastern Nazarene College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Emmanuel College
Endicott College
Fairfield University
Fashion Institute of Technology
Fisher College
Florida Institute of Technology
Fordham University
Framingham State University
George Washington University
Harvard University
High Point University
Hofstra University
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Loyola Marymount University
Maine College of Art
Marist College
Marquette University
MCPHS University
Merrimack College
Miami University-Oxford
Michigan State University
Middlesex Community College
Muhlenberg College
Nichols College
Northwestern University
Norwich University
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Plymouth State University
Providence College
Purdue University-Main Campus
Quinnipiac University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Rivier University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Roger Williams University
Roxbury Community College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Michael’s College
Saint Michael’s College
Salem State University
Skidmore College
Springfield College
St. John’s University-New York
St. Lawrence University
Stonehill College
Stony Brook University
Suffolk University
Syracuse University
Tufts University
Tulane University of Louisiana
Union College
University of Alabama
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Hartford
University of Maine
University of Maine at Farmington
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
University of Miami
University of New England
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
University of Rhode Island
University of South Carolina-Columbia
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
University of Texas at Austin
University of Toronto
University of Vermont
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Vassar College
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Wesleyan University
Western New England University
Western State Colorado University
Westfield State University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester State University
