District Newsletter
Superintendent Klaus' Commencement Address given at the Haddonfield Memorial High School ceremony on Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Welcome graduates, families, friends, administration, staff, and Board of Education members. As always, it is an honor to come and speak about and with the Haddonfield Memorial High School graduating class. This year, the Class of 2023 has represented our District and everything we value: scholarship, character, arts, and athletics.
As individuals, they have explored, succeeded, stumbled, and overcome. More important is who they are as a class. Collectively they have navigated the school experiences with grace, agility, and determination.
The Class of 2023 represents scholarship and success in the classroom that would rival any. Here is a snapshot of their academic achievement:
111 members of the National Honor Society
102 Neumuller Scholars: Achieved an A+ weighted GPA over four years
13 Commended National Merit Scholars
1 National Merit Finalist
51 seniors earned the distinguished New Jersey Seal of Bi-Literacy
They took 628 AP Exams
93.5 % are going to four-year schools in the fall
4.2% to two-year schools.
HMHS rankings
State Ranked #31
Nationally Ranked #708
#249 STEM School
On June 1, at the Senior Awards Ceremony, the class was awarded $280,000 in scholarships. After four years of renewable awards, the total will be over $595,000. In addition, the Class of 2023 earned $900,000 in outside scholarship funds for over $1.5 million in total.
Undoubtedly, a class as focused, dedicated, and driven as this one will venture into the world and become leaders in academia, medicine, sciences, law, and social reform. But success in the classroom is only one factor in defining the class of 2023. They are creative and inventive. Their efforts and drive in the art world are second to none.
The past four years have culminated with an impressive list of achievements:
The Marching Band, omnipresent in community events, performed the music of KA, a popular Cirque Du Soleil show, scoring high marks at the regional and state levels.
The HMHS music department performed at the WorldStrides Music Festival in Boston, with the Concert Choir earning a Gold rating for the first time in program history, earning an invite to an exclusive Gold festival next year.
The choral department kept busy this year performing 34 different pieces in eight languages across five ensembles in 11 performances.
Madrigal Singers competed against 22 other schools at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, taking home the first-place prize.
The Drama Club is always playing to a full house!
Fall play: The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood
Spring Musical: Head Over Heels: (nominated for 10 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, including Best Overall Production, winning top honors in costuming)
50 National Art Honor Society members designed and glazed 23 stair risers outside the main office with uplifting messages and created jewelry and donated profits to the Surfrider Foundation and St Jude’s Children's Hospital.
We know this class is talented in the classroom and has proven themselves to be creative thinkers. A third attribute they have demonstrated is drive. If there is any doubt about the nature of their drive to succeed and their competitive spirit, all one must do is review their successes in the areas of athletics
During the 22-23 school year, our teams:
Compiled a record of 254 wins and 101 losses, giving us a winning percentage of 72%!
Won seven conference titles
Earned 10 sectional titles out of a possible 22
Won four New Jersey State Group Championships.
And for the 41st year in a row, HMHS will receive the Colonial Conference All-Sports Award (an award given to the school with the best conference win-loss record).
I stated earlier that I am here to speak about and with the Class of 2023. This is always an interesting and complicated aspect of speech. I just spoke about the class to families and friends; I used statistics and data to share what they have accomplished. My greater desire is to speak with them. To talk about who they are and what we would hope for them. So, members of the Class of 2023, I apologize for speaking with you with my back turned, but there is no other practical way.
Members of the class, I congratulate you for being, in a word, willful. Maybe even borderline stubborn? But we’ll go with willful. You are a group of young adults who have coalesced and expressed determination and cleverness. You seem to love living in that space between testing limits and breaking rules. It is an exciting space.
Imagine being a superintendent of schools visiting the high school during Spirit Week and entering the courtyard to find, of all things, a horse. I have been in that high school for many years. I am certain this was a first, but, even more impressive (I couldn’t think of another adjective, to be honest with you) than having a horse in the courtyard, was how the class handled it. As I approached, it must’ve been clear by the look on my face that this may have been problematic. With absolute confidence and certainty, it was made clear to me that this was not a problem. This was necessary. We had a Western theme. We needed a horse. We got a horse. Technically only the horse's head was actually in the building. It felt like it made sense ... maybe ... but moreover, there was a level of assuredness that could not be denied.
So often, speeches to graduates are about change and how important change is. There is wisdom in that; change the world, make it better. But keep in mind what needs to change. As a cohesive group of strong-willed individuals, you used your drive not just to sneak a horse into school but to accomplish all the abovementioned things. This does not even begin to encompass what you can achieve moving forward. Stay resolute. Be willful. Live in that space that challenges limits. Refuse to concede, and you can be the difference. Embrace opportunities. Small ones and the ones that can change the world. I hope you stay true to your spirit of drive, perseverance, and willfulness, and you do just that.
Thank you for what you’ve given to our school district. I send you off to be who you are. I wish you health, I wish you success, but, mostly, I wish you happiness.
In the words of the immortal Bob Ross:
“This is your world
You’re the creator
Find freedom on this canvas
Believe, that you can do it,
'Cuz you can do it.
You can do it.”
― Bob Ross
