683 Receive Diplomas at Vineland High School's 129th Commencement Exercises

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A cooling breeze whisked away the afternoon heat at Gittone Stadium Monday and created a near-perfect environment for Vineland High School’s 129th Commencement Exercises, which drew the usual capacity crowd of proud parents and family members to the annual celebration of academic accomplishment.

The crowd cheered and cried as 683 students celebrated the culmination of their Vineland Public Schools careers by accepting diplomas amid the usual shower of silly string, bouncing of beach balls and exhibition of wild sunglasses.

It was a noisy but proud sendoff for the Class of 2007, which excelled not only in academics, with 176 (25 percent) qualifying as honor students, but in athletics, extracurricular activities and community service. The class boasted 58 Summa Cum Laude scholars with grade-point averages of 3.75 to 4.0 (All A’s) or above. Students can surpass the 4.0 mark through outstanding performance in Advanced Placement (Honors) courses. Another 27 students were Magna Cum Laude scholars with a 3.5 to 3.75 GPA. Ninety-one were Cum Laude scholars with a 3.0 to 3.49 GPA.
Leading the way were Vijeta Limbekar, Valedictorian and Aneesh Jain, salutatorian. Ten students had perfect attendance records, including one –Samantha Andreoli – who never missed a day of school in 13 years of education and was among the Magna Cum Laude scholars.

Class officers were Kevin Beckford, President; Douglas Cherwien, Vice President; Barshay Graves, Secretary; and Alex Rybyinski, Treasurer. Class advisors were Michelle Villar and Jennifer Belvett. The class gift was a $1,500 donation and two benches for the front of the building.

Officiating at his first commencement was Dr. Thomas McCann, Principal of Vineland High School South. It was likely the last such ceremony for Theodore E. Peters, Principal of VHS North, who is leaving the school after 15 years to assume the post of Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education.

Also addressing the last class he will see on a daily basis was Chalky Ottinger, Superintendent of Schools and former VHS South Principal.

In keeping with tradition, Mrs. Jacqueline Gavigan, Vineland Board of Education Vice President, and Thomas Ulrich, board member, both addressed the graduates because they each have a child in the class. Mrs. Gavigan’s son, Ryan, is a Summa Cum Laude scholar and Ulrich’s daughter, Jennifer, also received her diploma last night. Ulrich’s niece, Nikki Davis, was among the Magna Cum Laude graduates. Frank Giordano, Board of Education President, presented a symbolic diploma to Beckford and officiated later when his colleagues handed out diplomas to each member of the class.

Musical selections, including the VHS alma mater, were performed by the Select Choir.

Still photography courtesy of Carla Hockenbury, Technology Teacher at Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, NJ

Additional photography by Brian Anthony, Petway Elementary School and a crew chief for VPS Broadcasting.

Commencement Exercises were videotaped by VPS Broadcasting and will air tonight at 7 p.m. on Channel 13.