VENTNOR – The Ventnor Middle School held graduation ceremonies Friday evening, sending 65 students off to area high schools. The auditorium was packed with parents and family members, who graciously held their applause until all award winners were named. Then began a few minutes of “hooting and howling.”
Graduate Olivia Kulakowski, who is headed to Atlantic City High School in September, said she would miss her classmates at the VECC, but was looking forward to new adventures.
“I’m looking forward to being on the swim team,” she said. Kulakowski currently swims for the Seahawks club team at Egg Harbor Township High School. “My friends Rosie and CiCi will be with me in high school.”
Nickolas Zdybek is going to Atlantic County Institute of Technology in Mays Landing in the fall.
“I’m kind of into technology,” he said. “I’m looking forward to taking some advanced classes and playing soccer.”
Nevertheless, he will miss his friend and the fabulous eighth grade teachers, he said.
Ventnor Middle School has a long-standing tradition of graduation speakers delivering their messages of the past, present and future.
Lynna Nguyen spoke about her years at the Ventnor Educational Community Complex, known to most as The VECC, recalling fears and trepidation experienced in kindergarten and now as they approach their high school years.
“We learned the basics of reading and writing and discovered how to give back in service to the school,” she said, and along the way there were “challenges and rewards.”
It was nice to see how far she and her classmates have come over the years, and looking back, “everything went by in a flash.”
She said her school days at the VECC would forever hold “a special place in my heart.”
Cooper Kane talked about the present, and the decisions students are being asked to make. He quoted Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” before saying, “The present is all about decisions we make. It’s where the magic happens.”
Kane, who only came to the school a year ago, recalled how he was welcomed by other students, especially on his first day when he fell off his desk chair.
“Thank you for giving me a home,” he said to his classmates. He also thanked the teachers for giving students “the gift of knowledge,” and parents for “never giving up” on them.
The final student speaker, Zainab Khawaja said the future seems at times to be so distant, “but every minute we encounter was once the future.”
She said the future would change with every decision students make and urged her classmates to have “integrity” when they approach moments of joy and struggle.
“Everyone on stage is ready to take on the future. No matter which high school we go to, we will carry what was taught to us, remember the people we met and how they affected us,” she said.
The Class of 2019 delivered to the audience their class song, “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” from the movie, “Toy Story.”
Principal Rob Baker presented the students as completing all the necessary coursework to graduate to high school, and recognized the nine teachers and staffers who will be retiring this year.
In a touching tribute to Ventnor Elementary School secretary Kathy McKinney, who passed away suddenly last week, Baker presented the Home and School Association’s new Kathy McKinney Award to Jackson Barrie for his “exceptional kind and loving attitude toward others.”
Class of 2019
- Eric Abreu
- Michael Amorosia
- Chase Calhoun
- Jerry Chen
- Robyn Eastwood
- Nelson Gonzales
- Amanda Goudie
- Dory Hargadon*
- Sincere James
- Kaila Jordan
- Panagioti Kazantzoglou
- Kevin Klein
- Cecelia Marota*
- Catherine Mears*
- George Nikos
- Olivia Paddie
- Erick Perez
- Hillary Poetsch
- Alex Prajzner*
- Omari Rivera
- Richard Rossetti
- Andrew Vu
- Elizabeth Abbott*
- Alexandra Bergamesco
- Daniel Cohen*
- Jae Crump
- Anthony Damiani*
- Brinda Day*
- Alana Gilbert
- Patrick Gonzalez
- Adonis Hernandez
- Cooper Kane*
- Maseeha Khan
- Michael Khuc
- Olivia Kulakowski*
- Myles Mamun
- Nicholas Merlino
- Betty Nguyen*
- Lynna Nguyen*
- Samuel Olarte
- Jose Pelaez
- Fernanda Vasquez*
- Oldis Zapata
- Colin Abbott*
- Jackson Barrie
- Alex Cadavid Jr.
- Melany Canas
- Jack Dao
- Omar Dewair
- Alesi Echevarria
- Noor Elmasri*
- Cassandra Fuentes
- Jack Hocker
- Evan Hossain*
- Zainab Khawaja*
- Tainna Lengeranli
- MaryAnn Lyall
- Jordan Mercado
- Rosie Miltenberger*
- Mackenzie Morgan
- Jival Patel
- Jhon Rojas
- Carlos Sarkar
- Antonio Strafella
- Nickolas Zydbek
*National Junior Honor Society
