Upper Marlboro, MD – The original Calvert High School has been razed and now the last class to walk its halls has graduated. The Cavalier Class of 2015 took their big walk Wednesday, June 3 at Show Place Arena, almost 300 strong and all of them still works-in-progress.
“I witnessed the major transformation of our school,” said class president Brenna Will, who told her classmates, “each and every one of us has undergone a transformation over the last four years.”
Calvert High Principal Dr. Susan Johnson noted the scholastic and athletic accomplishments of the graduating seniors, also mentioning the memorable moments in the performance arts.
Like the CHS Class of 2015, Calvert County Public Schools’ (CCPS) graduation exercises have experienced a transformation this year. The traditional practice of singling out two students for their grade point averages—the valedictorian and salutatorian—has been displaced by the designation “graduate with distinction.”
The move, which was a unanimous decision of the high school principals—including Johnson—back in 2011, has drawn fringe opposition from the community. In its first year of use, 20 CHS graduating seniors—roughly 6 percent of the class—earned the graduate with distinction designation.
The graduate with distinction selected by peers to address the audience, Joshua Bell, is bound for the University of Maryland Baltimore County this fall. Bell intends to study biochemistry. He called graduating from high school “a necessary step, the first of many great achievements.”
Noting the “strong bonds” established during their time at CHS, Bell urged his classmates to “value and maintain relationships. Remember who you are—but we are going to change. It’s time to take an amazing journey.”
Musical selections during the ceremony included senior Carly Herber’s performance of Yael Naim’s “New Soul,” plus Bell and Rachel Lettner’s rendering of Reynolds, Coulter and McKee’s “It’s Time.”
The CHS Band and Orchestra, and CHS Concert Choir performed Gustav Holst’s “Homeland.” Those groups were joined by CHS staff members in a performance of the school’s Alma Mater.
The Star Spangled Banner was sung by Abigail Capps, John Paul Duffy, Natalie Shaw and Emiley Shifflet.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
