8 • The easTchesTer review • July 1, 2016
Eastchester Eagles leave the nest
Eastchester High School hangs a banner congratulating the Class of 2016, 227 of whom graduated on Friday, June 24.
Eastchester High School’s Class of 2016 graduated 227 students during their 88th annual commencement ceremony at Dom Cecere Field on Friday, June 24. Among the graduates were 40 students who graduated with honors and 40 who graduated as members of the National Honors Society. Class President Kyle McIntyre, who also served as master of ceremonies, told his classmates during his opening speech, “Your four years of high school did not define you; you defined your four years in high school.” Keynote speaker and Eastchester High School Principal
Dr. Jeffery Capuano asked the graduating Eagles to learn from the Wright brothers, who were accredited with first achieving human flight. He said the brothers’ success stemmed from three components: family, passion for their skills and perseverance. Eastchester Town Supervisor Anthony Colavita told the graduates to remember where they came from and to make the most of their time. “Be the person that looks back to now satisfied, saying, ‘You know, I figured it out; I figured out what was more important,’” he said. Other speakers included Cathrenea Collins, student government president, Valedictori-
an Samantha Brooks, Salutatorian Miu Kumakura, Eastchester Superintendent of Schools Dr. Walter Moran, and Eastchester Board of Education President Mary Messier Martin, whose son was among the graduates. The high school also awarded honorary diplomas to three of its faculty members. Assistant Principal Christopher Fiore, who is leaving the school to become principal of H. Frank Carey High School in Franklin Square in Nassau County, music teacher Don Olsen and business teacher Phyllis Rothschild—both of whom taught at the high school for 26 years—received the diplomas. The ceremony included two musical performances dedicated to the graduates: a choral rendition of Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella’s “I Lived” performed by the high school concert choir, and a “Star Wars” music mash-up performed by the high school band. During the ending procession, some of the new alumni kissed the Eastchester Eagle– –a large eagle statue positioned in the center of Dom Cecere Field—a tradition rumored to bring good luck.
Eastchester High School graduates kiss the school’s eagle mascot, a talisman of good luck for alumni.
-Reporting by Corey Stockton
The Eastchester High School Class of 2016 proceed down Dom Cecere Field to a tent for their commencement ceremony, carrying their school banner. Photos/Corey Stockton
Valedictorian Samantha Brooks thanks her family, friends, classmates and teachers for being her support system, which she hopes will last beyond high school.
Eastchester High School Principal Dr. Jeffrey Capuano recants an Irish blessing for the graduating class, saying, “May the wind be at your feet.”
The Eastchester High School concert choir sings “I Lived” by Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella to send off their classmates.