On Saturday, June 5, Pentucket Regional High School held a graduation ceremony and presented 188 graduating seniors with their diplomas. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
The Class of 2021 took a group photo before the ceremony. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
From left: Alyssa Borrelli of West Newbury, Sydney Forman of Merrimac, Olivia Colby of Merrimac, Emily Dube of Groveland and Sophia Heusser of Merrimac. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
Giovanni Iacobucci of West Newbury, Nathan Rubio of Merrimac, Matthew Zylinski of Haverhill, William Ruchala of Groveland, Ryan Tedeschi of West Newbury, Mitchell Powers of Haverhill and Seamus O’Keefe of West Newbury. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
The Percussion Ensemble Drum Line performs at graduation. From left: Senior Veronica McDonogh of West Newbury, sophomore Jack MacDonald of Groveland, sophomore Isabella Higgins of West Newbury, freshman Cameron Keene of Groveland, junior Elias Garcia of Groveland, Percussion Instructor Joseph Hartigan and junior Oliver Kane of West Newbury. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
From left: Livia Cole of West Newbury, Eliza McGuirk of West Newbury and Jacey Jennings of Merrimac. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
Giavanna Fioretti of Groveland, Mia Sharpe of Groveland, Macey Rodrigues-Cowl of Merrimac and Zayna Ateyat of West Newbury. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District) 
From left: Graduation Marshals sophomore Diana Williamson and freshman Dominic Oteri, both of Merrimac. (Photo Courtesy Pentucket Regional School District)
WEST NEWBURY – Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jonathan Seymour are pleased to announce the graduation of 188 students from Pentucket Regional High School.
On Saturday, June 5 the graduation ceremony was held outdoors inside the track on the Pentucket Regional Middle and High School campus.
“Each and every one of you have worked so hard throughout your high school careers. Many of you have taken part in activities that go beyond the classroom, including extracurriculars like sports and music, or even working a part-time job,” said Principal Seymour. “I am so proud of your ability to balance schoolwork, with activities, family and friends. All of your hard work has finally paid off and I would like to congratulate you all on officially graduating.”
“Congratulations to the Class of 2021. Despite the challenges of this year, you did it and you should all be so proud of yourselves,” said Superintendent Justin Bartholomew, “I wish you nothing but success as you leave high school and begin the next phase of your life.”
The ceremony included a welcome address, invocation from class officers, speeches from the valedictorian and salutatorian, as well as scholarship announcements from the Pentucket Scholarship Foundation and the conferring of diplomas.
The Class of 2021 Valedictorian is Nathan Blanchard. Blanchard plans to attend the University of Vermont in the fall and major in Statistics and Data Science.
“I don’t know if anyone would qualify this year as a really good experience, but it was uniquely our experience, and if nothing else, it has made us resilient. I think that we can all look forward to this next year which will almost certainly grant us more freedoms than this past one,” said Blanchard. “In the end, we may actually see ourselves as fortunate to have finished high school with almost no freedoms since this will open up an entire world of new opportunity for us to do what makes us happy.”
The Class of 2021 Salutatorian is Mitchell Powers of Haverhill. Powers plans to attend Arizona State University in the fall and major in Aerospace Engineering.
“High school is important, but not because of the things we learn. High school is where we come together to form communities. Pentucket has brought me my closest friends and countless memories that span from classes to sports teams to clubs,” said Powers. “Pentucket has become one of the most important places in my life not because of the facilities but because of the people. As I graduate beside you, I am truly proud to be a Pentucket student.”
For the latest updates, visit the district’s website here.
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