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Feature News | Tuesday, June 15, 2021

God speed, class of 2021

Both teachers and students successfully navigated the 'new normal'

 

Msgr. Edward Pace High School's class of 2021 throw their caps into the air after their graduation ceremony, held May 28, 2021 on the school's new football field.

Photographer: Via Facebook

Msgr. Edward Pace High School's class of 2021 throw their caps into the air after their graduation ceremony, held May 28, 2021 on the school's new football field.

MIAMI | The phrase “new normal” has certainly applied to the 2020-21 school year.

Traditional, in-person school, canceled abruptly last March by the pandemic, turned into hybrid classrooms from October to June, with many students returning to schools while others continued learning from home. Mask-wearing, hand-sanitizing and daily wellness checks became the norm at all archdiocesan schools. iPads, laptops, Zoom and other virtual technologies joined smartboards and desks as classroom fixtures — not to mention plexiglass dividers between desks and in cafeterias.

Through it all, the class of 2020-21 persevered, trying to make their last year of high school as normal as possible. This is a class, remember, that has spent nearly two out of their four years of high school dealing with a pandemic.

Many sports continued, and a number of high schools won state championships: Christopher Columbus and Cardinal Gibbons in wrestling, Gibbons in girls soccer, Belen Jesuit in boys soccer, St. Thomas Aquinas in girls basketball, St. Brendan and Immaculata-La Salle in cheerleading, Belen and Columbus in cross country, Gibbons and St. Thomas in football. As vaccines kicked in and the pandemic eased in the spring, proms and graduations returned, though socially distanced or even outdoors.

Next year, everyone hopes, the “new normal” will fade and teachers won’t have to navigate hybrid classrooms. Back to school will mean just that.

In this year’s graduation edition, we wanted to pay tribute not just to the graduates — the valedictorians and salutatorians, the Archbishop’s Leadership Award winners, the Silver Knights and the sports champions — but also to the teachers, whose dedication — even devotion — made the “new normal” possible for their students. Teachers who — heroically, yes — adapted and adopted unfamiliar technologies to make hybrid instruction work. You can read those stories here and here.

As we praise and bid goodbye to the class of 2021, we pray the lessons learned during these difficult months will fortify them as they embark on their journey to adulthood. You certainly learned more than you bargained for. God speed!

Click here for statistics on the class of 2021.

VALEDICTORIANS AND SALUTATORIANS OF THE CLASS OF 2021 

Mia Quintana, co-salutatorian, Carrollton School

Photographer: COURTESY

Mia Quintana, co-salutatorian, Carrollton School

Paulina Boudet, co-salutatorian, Carrollton School

Photographer: COURTESY

Paulina Boudet, co-salutatorian, Carrollton School

Jacqueline Reed, valedictorian, Carrollton School

Photographer: COURTESY

Jacqueline Reed, valedictorian, Carrollton School

 

Camila Gloria, salutatorian, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High

Photographer: COURTESY

Camila Gloria, salutatorian, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, valedictorian, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High

Photographer: COURTESY

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, valedictorian, Archbishop Coleman Carroll High


 
Adriana Garcia, valedictorian, Archbishop McCarthy High

Photographer: COURTESY

Adriana Garcia, valedictorian, Archbishop McCarthy High

Cali Hinesley, salutatorian, Archbishop McCarthy High

Photographer: COURTESY

Cali Hinesley, salutatorian, Archbishop McCarthy High


 
Diego Garmendia, salutatorian, Belen Jesuit Prep

Photographer: COURTESY

Diego Garmendia, salutatorian, Belen Jesuit Prep

Nicolas Alarcon, valedictorian, Belen Jesuit Prep

Photographer: COURTESY

Nicolas Alarcon, valedictorian, Belen Jesuit Prep


 
Luke Riahifar, valedictorian, Chaminade-Madonna College Prep

Photographer:

Luke Riahifar, valedictorian, Chaminade-Madonna College Prep

Benjamin Schlichte, salutatorian, Chaminade-Madonna College Prep

Photographer:

Benjamin Schlichte, salutatorian, Chaminade-Madonna College Prep

 

 

Christopher de la Viesca, salutatorian, Christopher Columbus High

Photographer: COURTESY

Christopher de la Viesca, salutatorian, Christopher Columbus High

Lukas Bleichner, valedictorian, Christopher Columbus High

Photographer: COURTESY

Lukas Bleichner, valedictorian, Christopher Columbus High

 

Jessica Squadrito, valedictorian, Cardinal Gibbons High

Photographer: COURTESY

Jessica Squadrito, valedictorian, Cardinal Gibbons High

Rachel Kamphaus, salutatorian, Cardinal Gibbons High

Photographer: COURTESY

Rachel Kamphaus, salutatorian, Cardinal Gibbons High

 

Mariana Bujalil, salutatorian, Immaculata-La Salle High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Mariana Bujalil, salutatorian, Immaculata-La Salle High School

Andres Marquez Santacruz, valedictorian, Immaculata-La Salle High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Andres Marquez Santacruz, valedictorian, Immaculata-La Salle High School

 

Nicole Calderon, valedictorian, Lourdes Academy

GPA: 5.26    Attending: University of Florida

Photographer: COURTESY

Nicole Calderon, valedictorian, Lourdes Academy GPA: 5.26 Attending: University of Florida

Erica Hengartner, salutatorian, Lourdes Academy

GPA: 5.26    Attending: University of Florida

Photographer: COURTESY

Erica Hengartner, salutatorian, Lourdes Academy GPA: 5.26 Attending: University of Florida

 

Nicolas Macias, salutatorian, Msgr. Pace High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Nicolas Macias, salutatorian, Msgr. Pace High School

Cecilia Rodriguez, valedictorian, Msgr. Pace High School

Photographer:

Cecilia Rodriguez, valedictorian, Msgr. Pace High School

 

Sophia Linale, valedictorian, St. Brendan High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Sophia Linale, valedictorian, St. Brendan High School

Olivia Fernandez, salutatorian, St. Brendan High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Olivia Fernandez, salutatorian, St. Brendan High School

 

Kamila Trigueros, salutatorian, St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Kamila Trigueros, salutatorian, St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Victoria Szymkiewicz, valedictorian, St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Photographer: COURTESY

Victoria Szymkiewicz, valedictorian, St. Thomas Aquinas High School


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