'Trailblazing' Norwood HS Class of 2017 Receives Their Diplomas

NORWOOD, MA — After years of first, including being the first Norwood class to have full day kindergarten, Sunday’s Norwood High School graduation was the last day for the Class of 2017 to be together.

Over 200 students received their diplomas after an afternoon of reflection and memories of the years they spent attending the Norwood Public School.

Class Valedictorian Erin Walsh called the senior class one of trailblazers who shared their experiences. She emphasized that while she may not remember every lesson she sat through, it will be the experiences that live on in her memory.

"Even though we may not remember the little details, all these experiences we’ve had over the year have culminated in a high school experience,” Walsh said. “No two people have the same experience, no two people are going to emerge having learned the same lessons or same conclusions.”

Quoting Kurt Vonnegut, Walsh said to engage in some skylarking, which plans to play around or inducible in practical jokes or horseplay.

“You don’t have to be good, you don’t have to be great, you simply have to let yourself create a life for yourself that is meaningful to you. Skylark as much as you can again and again and again,” she said.

Drawing shades of “Good Will Hunting,” Norwood High School Principal Jonathan Bourn asked about the good apples in the bunch that is the Class of 2017, imploring the graduates to be creative, thoughtful, and show empathy.

Myev Bodenhofer, the chairperson, of the school committee, spoke about the importance of learning how to think and not being told what to think.

“Remember, that was the whole point. The point of school is not to tell you what to think, not to give you a set of facts and tell you your education is complete,” Bodenhofer said. “I hope that you enter your next phase of your life knowing that learning is never done but also knowing that Norwood High School has taught you how to think.

Image via Norwood Public Access