8th-graders say goodbye
By: Stephanie Brown
JAMESBURG Emotions ran high Tuesday night when Grace M. Breckwedel School’s eighth-grade graduates said farewell to a school many call home, and to friends and faculty many consider family.
At the stroke of 6 p.m., the middle school band burst to life with "Pomp and Circumstance" as 60 graduates marched two-by-two through a crowd of proud parents gathered in the gym. The boys in red robes and the girls in white made their way to the stage amid the flashing camera lights.
After the flag salute and "The Star-Spangled Banner," Board of Education President Don Peterson gave the graduates a few words of advice.
"If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you’re right," he said. "Each one of you have the ability to achieve success. All you have to do is believe you can."
Next, Valedictorian Bridget Noel addressed her classmates’ fears of moving on to high school. Students will be separated next year, some attending Monroe Township High School, some Middlesex County Vocational and Technological School in East Brunswick, and others St. John Vianney High School, a Catholic school in Holmdel.
"Our small school has become a big family," she said. "It takes more than a change to break that bond."
Superintendent and Principal Shirley Bzdewka spoke to the graduates about their future.
"There will be many times in the next four years when you’ll say, ‘I just can’t do it,’ but no matter what happens you need to keep going," she said. "Remember, many of life’s failures are people who didn’t realize how close they were to success before they gave up."
Ms. Bzdewka then presented a slide show.
Pictures of eighth-grade prom, field day, class trips, and other unforgettable moments lit up the darkened gym walls, as Sarah McLachlan’s "I Will Remember You" and Bowling for Soup’s "Almost" echoed through the rafters.
Many students agreed that they were close to tears during the slide show. But if they didn’t cry then, they had no problems letting it out afterward.
Lining the ramp leading out of the gym, the new graduates clung to friends and memories.
Bridget Noel and Samantha Boka said they made a pact with four other friends to remain close.
"Hopefully we’ll all stick together no matter what," Samantha said through sobs. "It’s comforting having such a small school because you know everybody, but when you get to high school it will all change."
"Honestly, this is the best school I’ve been to," added Bridget, who said she transferred to GMB three years ago. "It feels like home."
Out in the hallway, Michael Prentiss posed for a picture with his father, Michael.
Michael will be attending Middlesex County Vo-Tech for computer graphics next year, and Mr. Prentiss said he couldn’t be happier.
"I quit school to go to work, so he’s already achieved more than I did in an academic sense," Mr. Prentiss said. "I’m really proud of him."