Making Memories: 9th Annual Melrose Grad Night Celebration Rocks On

Melrose Grad Night is an all-night, substance-free, chaperoned event which takes place on MHS graduation night. It is hosted by community members to celebrate the Melrose High School graduating class. The goal of the event is to give kids an alternative to risky behaviors that are often tempting on graduation night. It has been held each year since 2014 and has become a much-anticipated tradition. 2022 was our 9th annual event! This year we were very excited to be able to head back indoors to the MVMMS campus and have a more “normal” event.

On Friday June 3, 217 new grads (about 90% of the class!) descended on the MVMMS campus at 11pm and enjoyed inflatables, casino games, baby animals, Bingo, a magic show, DJ and food all night long. The celebration culminated in breakfast at 4am, with prize drawings and a slide show of their time in the Melrose Schools.

It takes many people to make this annual event a success. We would like to thank:

-Mayor Brodeur and his team at City Hall for their ongoing and enthusiastic support, critical to the success of the event.

-DPW Staff: from the administrative end, Jay McNeil, Jim Troup and Jane Bolger helped with facilitating event logistics. And we are extremely grateful to the custodial staff who go above and beyond each year assisting on the day/night of the event. Their positive attitudes and hard work are invaluable. This year we relied on Nick, Scott and Dave as our direct contacts during the event and set-up. Every request was met with a pleasant “can-do” response. In addition, there are so many DPW staffers who played a part, moving chairs, setting up the sign board, assisting in clean up and more. Without the enthusiastic support of DPW, Grad Night would not be possible.

-MPS Team: Dr. Julie Kukenberger and MHS principal Jason Merrill, and his staff, including Diane Carpenter, Bryan Corrigan, Blair Cochran and Holly Staples for their encouragement, advice and for helping us maintain communication with the senior class.

-Bridge Coordinator Lisa Lewis for registering and CORI checking volunteers

-Bob Savarino, who has breathalyzed the grads for each year of Grad Night. His patience, calm demeanor, and passionate commitment to keeping grads safe is much appreciated.

-The MPD detail officers: We thank them for their kindness and good humor. Thanks to Chief Lyle for his support, as well.

-Steve Black, MPS Visual Arts Director for his assistance and logistical support.

-Emergency Management Director Allan Alpert

-Community Coalition of Melrose for their administrative support

-Financial Donors: We so appreciate everyone, parents, alumni, community members, and small businesses who made a financial donation to Grad Night as well as those who gave much-appreciated donations of food and prizes. Our community is so generous!

-Our volunteers and supporters: parents, community members... from our behind the scenes helpers, to each set-up team member, chaperone and clean-up crew, our volunteers are amazing! As they do every year, so many good natured Melrosians came together to create this event. They paid it back and paid it forward and showed their love for our MHS kids. A special thank you to MHS ’19 alums, Jennifer and Reese Kahler, who provided us with invaluable tech support for the 2am magic show.

-The Grad Night Committee, past and present. Often, people will praise the current committee, (and they are awesome!) but the success of Grad Night was built on the shoulders of the first committee, who began meeting in 2013. Educator Steve Turner proposed the idea and a group of optimistic and creative parents took on the challenge. The event grew and evolved as they learned lessons from each event. Committee members have retired, and new folks have stepped up to continue the tradition and put their own mark on Grad Night. We are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has been a committee member! This year we are overjoyed to have been able to train so many new committee members who we know will carry on the Grad Night tradition for years to come.

-And finally, we thank the Class of 2022! High School has been a strange experience for them, but we are so impressed at their accomplishments! We are thrilled that we were able to provide them with a fantastic last night together! They were polite, appreciative, and respectful, and a credit to their families and school. We wish them good luck and good health on their next journeys.

Gratefully,

Nancy Brincheiro

Michelle Carson

Co-Chairs

Melrose Grad Night