Let the festivities begin...

Tonight we began our end-of-year celebrations with a great baccalaureate followed by a steak, lobster and chicken dinner. One of the highlights was a visit from Scott Bartlett '63 who shared some wonderful history of the school and a great new fight song that he has composed for the Winch. I will work to get the lyrics up here if not the an actual recording of the song in the coming days. Alex Yeung '05 shared some great perspective as did faculty members Adrian Clewlow and Vestigia dedicatee Alex Magay. Another special moment that few students anywhere will be as lucky to have was the Winchendon students being seranaded by their Director of College Counseling Terry Ward. As is always the case Dajin Kim's ('09) piano music was beautiful. We will miss her music next year.

Ewood Kloos '09 delivered the following wonderful speach:

Once upon a time there was a person whose nationality was unspecified, whose language could be from any part of the world, whose religion was not obvious, whose ethnicity, background, wealth were uncertain. This person walked through the doors of the Winchendon School. He or she ate, slept, studied, laughed, interacted with 26 different cultures and nationalities. This person could be anyone of us.

The past holds the key to what is possible in the future. We acquire here a piece of paper which states we are ready for college, but we have attained much more; the pride of our parents and family; the leap in to adulthood; but most importantly, gratification in ourselves that we have obtained proficiencies that will enable us to choose our own directions. In this unique bubble in which we have lived this year, we have dealt with challenging circumstances. We lived by a relentless schedule of classes, tests, study hours, mandatory afternoon obligations, extracurricular activities and other self disciplines. We have mastered this rigorous place. Working endlessly, trying to achieve our goals while dealing with strict rules, we are the successes of the Winchendon School.

As we begin to look back with nostalgia on this voyage. Attending the Winchendon School has been a daring journey for each of us. Beginning with worries about high gas prices, ending with qualms of a economic recession; beginning with a flu micro epidemic at school, ending with the H1N1 virus pandemic; beginning with a calm fall, ending with a rough cold winter just behind our wake; beginning as teenagers, ending as young adults; we have crossed many thresholds as a community, as cohorts. We have learned from each other. The evacuation during the ice storm bonded us, the study hours disciplined us, our roommates took care of us, our friends comforted us and our teachers guided us.

This is the first time I have ever been at a school which had a morning meeting. It is unique that a school has a gathering of all the students and faculty in such a manner. I compare it to a large family gathering. Mr. Kerney at the head of the table leading and directing, Ms. Blair with either good news- if she gives a Student of the Week Award- or with bad news- if she names you back in study hall- Mr. Duncan, trying to keep us awake with his enthusiasm and spirit, and Mr. Williams with his student activity announcements. Each of us has the chance to have our own little say as well.

There was always something to complain about at the Winchendon School: the food was bland; the classes too small, too stinky, too boring, too American, too hard, too Asian, too “o-my-god-I-got-another-one-for-the-week”; too much of hearing “I want to go home”- probably the most common sentence around. But there was also always something to look forward to: a good workout at the gym, a competitive game in sports, a nice relaxing moment with friends, a climb to the top of Mt. Manadnock, a Student Government organized Chinese New Year, a scavenger hunt, a Ping-Pong tournament, a logo competition with the Wapiti as winner, and, maybe even, a challenging and fun lesson in class. Yes, I think we can admit complaining is an easy thing to do. Caring is more difficult; it requires a certain sacrifice; it demands integrity. We have cared this year.

Now we look to the future. The college choices we have made during the last few weeks have been critical in further developing our own lives. Now we must separate. Many will go to Asia, some go to Europe, a few to Africa, some to South-America and others will stay in North-America. We wish each other will on our journeys. As we think back to this place from time to time and reflect on what we have learned here, what we have gained here, not only as students, but as human beings, we will reflect on a bygone life. College is before us; years where we will further mature and thrive. As Mahatma Gandhi said: “Each night when I go to sleep I die, and next morning when I wake up I am reborn again”, so let us die a little tonight, in peace, and be reborn tomorrow on commencement day into a new life.
Ewoud Kloos '09

Adrian Clewlow's thoughtful words of wisdom are below:
Baccalaureate 2009
This speech will be short, sweet, and hopefully, engaging. While this is directed mostly to our graduating class, I believe that it is relevant to all of you here.

I would like to talk about the lessons that I've learned in the 20 years since my high school graduation. Don't take what I say as "truth." Just listen. Perhaps my experience can help you out a tiny bit. As we look at the present global crises that we are faced with, we only need to look at history to see that we have been here before, and we will be here again, but we will endure and overcome all obstacles. Many of you have experienced great loss and suffering in your lives, but you have endured, and you have overcome. As you progress, here are 5 things that have helped illuminate my path as I have moved forward in my life and they may, perhaps, help you in your adventures in life.

#5: Live as much as you possibly can.
You are going to work the rest of your lives, so don't be in a rush to start. Stretch out your college education. Now is the time to suck life into your lungs, before you grow roots and establish a life that includes a mortgage, car payments and kids.
Take whole semesters off to travel overseas. Take jobs and internships that pay less money or no money. Investigate your passions. Live in different cities. Delay for as long as possible, the inevitable entry into the workplace. You have 50 years of work ahead of you in your chosen careers, so enjoy what is out there now as much as you can.

#4: Pursue joy, not just happiness.
This is probably the hardest lesson of all to learn. It probably seems to you that the goal in life is to be "happy." You may have to make sacrifices and study and work hard, but, by and large, happiness should be predictable.
Nice house. Nice car. Nice material things. Happiness is temporary and fleeting, especially when you suffer the loss of these nice things. Joy, by contrast, is unpredictable. It comes from pursing interests and passions that do not obviously result in happiness, but fill you with a greater sense of achievement, knowledge, and satisfaction. Figure out what your joy is. Figure out what it takes within you to create joy in your life.
Pursuing joy will give you the opportunity to study what you love and what you WANT to study, not the things that you feel like you HAVE to study.

#3: Learn to speak a foreign language.
The world is a great playground, and if you can stretch out beyond that which you know, and even beyond that which you are comfortable with, you will be greatly enriched. Learning a foreign language will open up many doors for you in many different ways. You have all experienced different cultures here at Winchendon, so why not dig a little deeper and live the cultures that you have only scratched the surface of. Most significantly, you will learn a little more about yourself and of what you are truly capable. Reach out and explore what the world has to offer.

#2: Continue to learn.
Learning is a process, not an event. Learning is not over when you get your diploma or your college degree. You should never stop learning. In fact, it gets easier to learn once you're out of school because it's easier to see the relevance of why you need to learn.
You have been learning in a structured, dedicated environment here at Winchendon. We, as a community, should have prepared you well enough to take the next step in your educational careers as you progress into college. All that we ask now is that you carry what you have learned here with you, and that you strive for collegiate success with the same determination as you have shown here.

And lastly, and by no means least:
#1: Enjoy your friends and “be here now”:
This is the most important advice I have for you. It doesn't need much explanation. I'll just repeat it: Enjoy your friends and be here now. Be in the moment.
As you look around, there are many of your friends and classmates who are not here to enjoy the graduation weekend. They, like those of you graduating this weekend, have been working towards this moment for the duration of their time here at Winchendon. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, they cannot be here to share in this celebration. Times change, situations vary, but your friends will always be your friends. Take pride in your accomplishments. Take pride in your friends’ accomplishments. Remember your friends in good times as they will always be there for you in the bad times. Friends will continue to serve as your foundation as you branch out and explore life beyond the Winch. Friends will continue to remind you from where you came and serve as strong roots in your history, while also allowing you to grow and evolve into more complete individuals.

In conclusion, we encourage you to continue to develop as an individual, but we hope that you will always carry with you the things that you have learned during your time here. All 5 of these points mentioned go hand in hand with each other. Each single point exists within all the other points. We hope that you will remember the time that you have spent here fondly, as your time here will always be a part of your experience, and years down the road, it will still have played a major part in defining who you are as a person. Please come back to visit the school and the faculty who have helped to mold you. You are unique in the fact that you are Mr. Kerney’s first Winchendon class. You are the yardstick by which all other classes will be judged. I hope that you are as proud of your accomplishments as we are, and it is our sincere hope that you continue to keep ties to the Winchendon School through alumni events and frequent visits back to The Winch. Good luck and good fortune to all of you.

Thanks to all who made this a great evening. Now the students are back studying hard for the math finals tomorrow and many faculty are working to correct exams. I will work to get more posted in the coming days as I can.

Have a good evening.