Thursday, April 12, 2018 marked the induction of 7 juniors and 30 sophomores into Matignon branch of the National Honor Society. The ceremony started out with the procession music being played by Frodoe Cui, a member of the Matignon class of 2018, while the officers, the inductees, and the current members of the society walked down the aisle of the auditorium to their seats. After everyone settled down, Mr. Salvucci, the adviser of NHS, delivered an invocation followed by a greeting by former president Jeremy Piecz. Then, the Principal Mr. DiSarcina stood up to talk about character, one of the four aims of NHS. This was preceded by Jeremy Piecz speaking about scholarship and former NHS secretary Angelina Kemmett talking about leadership. Due to receiving an award elsewhere, former vice-president Ryan Jefferson was not able to be present to speak on service but Angelina Kemmett read his speech for him. After each speech, a candle was lit. This lead up to the next step in the induction process which was the candle lighting ceremony in which each inductee lit the candle of the inductee next to them. Then, the inductees turned to face the crowd and recited the NHS pledge led by Jeremy Piecz. There was a moment during this step in which none of the inductees remembered the line given to them but it was quickly repeated and just added levity to the whole situation. Once the pledge was done, Mr. DiSarcina named the inductees and some of their accomplishments. The inductees wrote their name in the book of NHS members and then received a certificate and pin handed to them by Mr. Salvucci. The next segment of the ceremony was the changing of the guard in terms of the NHS officers. This segment was done by the former officers handing objects representing their roles to the new officers. The new president Brenda Genium received a gavel, the new vice-president received the book of NHS members, and the new secretary received a pen. Then, the former officers sat in the stools that the new officers sat in earlier and the night and the new officers sat in the chairs the old officers used to be in to formally represent the passing of the torch. Ms. Hovander then received the Teacher of the Year Award and gave a heartwarming speech about what teaching means to her and how much she enjoys helping a new generation. The ceremony ended by Mr. Salvucci sending everyone off with a benediction and people going downstairs for refreshments.
By Maria Aliberti
THE CAMBRIDGE MATIGNON MIRROR 