High School Graduation

On Saturday, June 2, 74 seniors graduated from Hull High School.  The ceremony was held in the Joseph Berman Gymnasium at Hull High School.

The following are Mr. Devine's words to the Class of 2012:

Members of the School Committee and Board of Selectmen, Dr. Tyrell, members of the Hull Public Schools’ faculty and staff, parents, family-members and guests:  I welcome you to the graduation of Hull High School’s Class of 2012.

Over the past three years, I have spent a great deal of time watching the members of the Hull High School Class of 2012.   I have seen them accomplish amazing feats: in the classrooms, on stage, on the fields and courts and ice, in the courtroom, on the floor of the Boston Garden, and in our little town.  They have made our community a better place through their many hours of service, and, if you doubt this, just take a look at the park that they created just two weeks ago on the HRA land.  As they leave Hull High School and this little peninsula they all call home, the members of the Class of 2012, are going to two and four-year colleges and universities, trade schools, the service and into the workforce.  I am confident that, whatever path they have chosen for themselves, the members of the Class of 2012 will succeed and make a difference in this world.  I know this because they have already shown us that they have the knowledge, the skill, the desire and the determination to do this. 

Hull High School is an awesome place of teaching and learning.  In the past year, the College Board, Boston Magazine, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges have recognized Hull High School as one of the best public high schools in Massachusetts.  And this week, we were added to the MIAA Sportsmanship Honor Roll for the first time, in recognition of the fact that not a single Pirate student-athlete received a game disqualification or an ejection during the 2011-2012 school-year.  This honor shows that while our students are fierce competitors, they compete in a way that reflects our core values.   I can tell you, tournament wins are sweet, but the fact that our student-athletes have been recognized for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship is even sweeter.  A great deal of the credit for all these accolades rests with the students seated before you today.  Our students and our faculty and staff are just as good, if not better, than any other public high school in Massachusetts. 

But, what stands out most to me about the Class of 2012 is their kindness.  I have seen countless examples of this:  our soon-to-be graduates working with the disabled, accepting new students to our school community, embracing all types of diversity, helping their classmates, and the adults who work in our school, through times of terrible loss, and treating everyone they meet with the respect and care that they deserve.  I have work in high schools for 15 years, in four different communities, and I can tell you that the Hull High School Class of 2012 is one of the most amazing groups of students with whom I have had the pleasure to work.  I will miss them dearly.  To the parents, guardians, and families of these students, you have done a fantastic job of raising these young adults.

To our soon-to-be graduates:  thank you for sharing the last three years with me.  We have rejoiced together at championship games, laughed together at lunch, cried together at funerals, and worked together to make Hull High School a better place than the one we entered.  As you prepare to start the next stage of you life – whether that be attending college, joining the military, entering the workforce, or being the best parent that you can be – I wish you love, laughter, joy, and peace.  I will not wish you “good luck”, because, as I have said to you many times, you do not need luck when you have talent.  And, boy, do you have talent.  Instead, I will just say congratulations, job well done, thank you, and I will treasure the time that we have spent together.  It has been my privilege to serve as your principal.