North, South celebrate students’ achievements
Middletown High School
classes of 2000 graduate Thursday at Arts Center
By Doug mckenzie
Staff Writer

JEFF HUNTLEY Jennifer DeLuca, top left, and Meredith Ann McGee sing the national anthem at Middletown High School South’s graduation ceremony at the PNC Bank Arts Center on Thursday. At right, class president Catherine Lapsanski addresses her classmates.

MIDDLETOWN — The PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel played host to hundreds of proud parents on Thursday, as the graduation ceremonies for both of the township’s high schools were held.

Middletown High School South seniors stole the spotlight first during a 1 p.m. ceremony honoring the approximately 278 members of the class of 2000.

Assistant Principal Patricia Corridon, who has worked with the graduates since their freshman year at the school, feels a special relationship to this year’s graduating class and admits that she will miss seeing them every day.

"They’ve been my class so obviously I do think they’re very special," she said. "They are a very high-achieving class who have performed a lot of extra-curricular activities. They are a very good group of people, many of whom are going on to college."

Corridon added that an unusually high number of graduates have expressed interest in entering military programs, which will help them to attain financial aid for college.

"I think that the number of kids looking into the ROTC programs really demonstrates that they are mature and looking to further their education," she said. "They really are a wonderful group of kids."

Among the speakers at South’s ceremony were valedictorian Lee-Jah Chang, salutatorian Tammy Cheung and class president Catherine Lapsanski.

Middletown High School North seniors stole the spotlight during their 3 p.m. ceremony honoring the approximately 390 to 400 members of the class of 2000.

Middletown North’s graduating class is also made up of a successful group of students who have impressed the school’s administration with their willingness to learn.

Principal Emil Binotto described the class as an active group, who consistently demonstrated their initiative and dedication.

"They are a great bunch of kids who are really dedicated to doing really good things for others," he said. "They’ve performed a number of community-related activities over the last four years. They’ve really got a lot of heart."

Most recently, Binotto said, the Student Council raised about $8,000 for the SIDS Center of New Jersey.

But Binotto said the students’ academic success is what impressed him the most about the class.

Roughly 88 percent of the approximately 400 students graduating are going on to some form of higher education. In addition, the class is receiving 350 academic and athletic scholarships, totaling over $6.5 million.

The class also included one National Merit Scholarship winner and 21 Edward Blaustein Distinguished Scholar Awards.

The top students in the class were valedictorian Deborah Leong, who won a slew of academic awards over the course of her career, and salutatorian Christopher Shaw.