The moment the first senior stepped foot on the gym floor, the bleachers erupted in applause. The passing of the scroll assembly leaped into motion with the graduating class of 2022 parading across the gym surrounded by a tunnel of the teachers who helped them come this far. As the first instance of this assembly in Revere history, students didn’t know what to expect. When Principal Andrew Peltz spoke his first word, the hum of thousands of whispers quieted at once.

He introduced the event as a celebration of transition. He welcomed the audience to the culmination of their effort this year—graduation to the next stage of their schooling. Applause erupted again.

The 2022 passing of the scroll assembly was the grand finale of the school year. The ceremony expressed pride, excitement and joy for every student as they moved up another grade level. The senior class officers handed over leadership to the junior class officers, represented by the scroll they all signed. If the assembly served its purpose, students walked out of the gym with this preview of the next year motivating them to keep moving forward.

But first, just after Peltz finished his speech, Senior Class President Nmendi Amanambu spoke at the podium.

“Freshmen—you survived your first year here—congrats! Sophomores, you’re about to head into a difficult year full of testing, classes and thinking about your future. Juniors, we watched you grow over the past few years. and now, you’re about to be seniors! I know you will all do well next year as leaders,” Amanambu said.

Then, Junior Class President Merit Wagstaff joined her. Amanambu unfurled the scroll and read it aloud.

“Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey,” Amanambu said.

Then she presented the scroll for him to take. Associate Principal Doug Faris explained what it symbolizes.

“The senior class president will hand the scroll to the junior class president, and that’s like a transfer of leadership,” Faris said.

After accepting the scroll, Wagstaff delivered a speech of his own. He welcomed the eighth graders to the school, reminded students of the love the Revere community has for every one of them, and discussed his appreciation for how far his class has come.

“I wish you best of luck in your next steps and remember you are always welcome here at RHS,” Wagstaff said.

Next, each grade level—eighth graders, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors—moved to the section that they would sit in next year. The seniors got up and exited the gym to change into their caps and gowns.

“And then the juniors [slid] over to the senior section, the sophomores will come across the floor to the junior section, the freshmen will move to their new spot in the sophomore section, and then the eighth graders, which is the most important thing, they will get up off the floor and take their spot as freshmen,” Faris said.

To close the ceremony, various teachers gave out awards to students they wanted to recognize, and the school performed the MINUTEMAN chant. Later that day, the seniors paraded around every school in the district while students applauded their graduation. Nmendi Amanambu told what the ceremony meant to her.

“It’s just a great way to close out my time at Revere, since it’s just really nice to celebrate with all my classmates and all the people that I’ve grown up with, and all my teachers and all the administrators, and be able to celebrate with the work that we’ve all completed,” Amanambu said.

Moving forward is exciting and scary. New responsibilities and new privileges await. For the juniors, that is especially true. Merit Wagstaff discussed his experience with the transition.

“It’s weird how fast it’s gone by, it’s scary. But for me, I think it just means I have to get a little more mature. I have to get ready for bigger things coming up, because, you know, I’ll start writing applications for college, figure out what college to go to. . . So a little stressful, but I’m really just excited for this,” Wagstaff said.

The ceremony is equally important to the eighth graders—entering high school is a time full of unknowns. This exposure to it teaches them to accept and look forward to the change.  Faris explained his idea for how the eighth graders experienced the day.

“The biggest thing with the passing of the scroll is that the eighth graders are coming over, and they will be part of the assembly. We’re at that point in the year where obviously the seniors are gone, and we want to start having our eighth graders be part of our school family,” Faris said.

The day was all about celebrating transition, and the soon-to-be freshmen are going through a large one. After summer break, they will go to orientation, explore a new building, join new clubs, meet new teachers and accept a new routine. Graduating middle school places new responsibilities on incoming freshman shoulders, but this assembly hopes to show them that they have a community behind them.  Faris talked about his goal when inviting the eighth graders to the assembly.

“I hope that they really, first of all, get excited, because they are moving up to high school, which is a big transition, as you know. But I just hope that they get excited to be part of our high school next year. And I hope it’s a positive thing that they can start with, as opposed to something negative when they’re passing into the school. And then in the summer, we’ll do our freshman orientation,” Faris said.

Faris designed the assembly to give the new students a welcoming introduction to high school by, firstly, giving them their spots in the freshmen’s section of the bleachers, and then performing the MINUTEMEN chant, which has come to be known as the pinnacle of school spirit.

“Hopefully, this is helping people understand that high school is much more than just tests. I mean, tests are obviously very important. Projects are very important. I’m not taking away from that. But we want you guys to feel connected to high school. And that, whether you’re on a sports team, or Revere Players, or whether you’re in the musical, or in the choir or band—whatever you’re in, even if you just have a really good group of friends, or maybe you don’t participate in anything, here at school, but you participate in stuff outside of school…you want to come in each day,” Faris said.

The passing of the scroll aims to be one of many good impressions Revere High School has on its students. Throughout the year, pep rallies, clap outs, sports games and dances brighten the school as they occur. To the eighth graders, the passing of the scroll is the first of many exciting Revere events to come. Faris explained the problem this assembly aims to solve.

“So many times high school was considered such a negative experience. And I’ve realized that we’re not going to be able to have a super great experience for everybody because people go through stuff. But if we can maybe just have some moments throughout the school year where people enjoy school, then maybe, just maybe, that would be a good thing,” Faris said.

Hope and excitement are the main themes of these kinds of events. Merit Wagstaff explained.

“I think, especially, like, five years from now—not even five, like next year, years after next year—it should be like Class Day, and all these new things we’re doing… everyone’s gonna be excited for [them], everyone knows what’s gonna happen,” Wagstaff said.

The scroll itself has the following written on it, along with the signatures of the senior class council:

Words of wisdom from the 

Revere High School Class of 2022: 

‘Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey.’

Michael Josephson

We hereby transfer the student leadership of Revere High School to the elected officers representing the Class of 2023 effective today, Friday, June 3, 2022.  

Best wishes for an incredible 2022-23 school year.

Faris hopes that one day this assembly will be a Revere tradition that students can look forward to at the end of each year.

“We are a school that feels like traditions are very important. That’s why we do clap outs for anybody that makes it to state, like choir or band [or] Academic Challenge. It doesn’t just have to be sports, it can be anything. Any accomplishment, we want to celebrate those accomplishments. Because that’s part of our tradition,” Faris said.