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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Notre Dame Graduates 143

Valedictorian Jawhara Maria Karam
photo courtesy of Raymond Lahoud
Notre Dame of Green Pond High School graduated 143 seniors on Sunday in its 50th commencement ceremony before a standing-room only crowd of over 600 people. They crammed into the high school's gym and auditorium. Last year's outdoor ceremony was dampened by several downpours, and threatening skies convinced school officials to go inside. It is a school of faith, but still relies on Accuweather.

Several alumni from the Class of 1966 were on hand to congratulate the new graduates. These included U.S. Army Colonel Robert Reddy, who went from high school into the armed forces and has been there for the past 50 years.

Principal Mario Lucrezi thanked parents for the sacrifices they have made to send their children to Catholic school, which includes an annual $7,000 tuition. "Without your commitment to Catholic education, we would not be here," he said. He advised graduates to work before they play, share what they have, love and respect their family and keep God in their plan.

Saluatorian Kathleen Capella mentioned that the high school gym in which they were all crammed serves many other purposes - It's an auditorium, a basketball court for some of the area's most exciting games, a place where mass is celebrated, a theatre and has even served as a 24-hour dance floor. "We do a lot with what little we have," she said, though she admitted "we all can use a little Divine intervention at times." She said she's learned to keep fighting like the Notre Dame Crusader who is knocked off her horse. "We fight for faith."

Valedictorian Jawhara Maria Karam ticked off the accomplishments of the Class of 2016. They include girls' soccer district finalist, football district champion, National Merit finalist, Freddie Winner and that class that raised $80,000 for children's hospital. But she noted the hardships along the way. Not everyone makes Varsity. Not all students get an A. "We need to be patient and trust that God is with us, every step of the way." She said that what she learned at Notre Dame is that we must "follow our own path, even though it may not be the most popular path."

Bishop John O Barres attended the commencement, and assisted Principal Lucrezi in awarding diplomas.

Though there are only 143 graduates, 172 colleges and universities have accepted members of the Class of 2016.

Notre Dame High School is a private, co-ed Roman Catholic high school near Easton, Pennsylvania, in Bethlehem Township. With an enrollment of about 570 students, taught by a 40-person faculty, the school includes 9th through 12 grades.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great story ! Thank you !
"Though there are only 143 graduates, 172 colleges and universities have accepted members of the Class of 2016".

That is saying something about the quality of education these young men and women receive from this school and other schools in the area like Central Catholic and Bethlehem Catholic.

In order for this kind of stat to exist, we need to see four issues come together as one. We need "dedicated" involvement from the student , the teachers , the parents and the admin. When all four come together , we generally see amazing out comes as a whole.

Is it possible to see amazing outcomes if any of the four refuse to participate, yes, but the odds are stacked up against the student.

Amazing job by the dedicated students, the dedicated parents , the dedicated teachers and admin !!

Bernie O'Hare said...

It is a very revealing statistic, and one I have seen at Notre Dame every commencement. I am a big believer in Catholic education despite its failures with me.

Congrats to the grads at every high school this year.

Anonymous said...

Word on the street is the drugs in Catholic High Schools are much better than those in public schools.

Peter J.Cochran said...

AND-The teaching staff is NOT overloaded with worthless degrees at PUBLIC EXPENSE that have no effect on subject material learned. So, do the math if you can for the long run An -Easton football player cost X apeace, they most often fail to go any farther ,it ENDS HERE, until the first divorce. He gets a 12 dollar an hour job if he gets one .Almost no Ivy League schools in 10 years from class grads 4 times as large. End result ;lack of quality of life ,standards, income , college grads get better jobs and they pay taxes and a new crop comes up without arrest records. I would close football and basketball in EASD until the averages test results start to exceed the state minimum. Go ahead debate me.

Anonymous said...

@5:03, translation into English please?

Anonymous said...

@7:13 PM-lol-I thought it was too late, one beer too many (only had 2 ) or I became unable to read and or comprehend. wtf was that