LCMRHS sends Class of 2026 off on journey into future
ERMA — If there were a theme to the remarks made at the Lower Cape May Regional High School graduation of the Class of 2026, it would have been “accomplishments.”
Every speaker, including Principal Larry Ziemba and Superintendent Greg Lasher, outlined some of the many accomplishments attributed to the 144 seniors who received their diplomas June 18.
The ceremony went off without a hitch under a mostly blue sky and warm winds. Graduate Jaelynn St. Onge delivered the Welcome Address, speaking about how the year 2026 resonated with her and her classmates perhaps since they entered elementary school. She noted the Class of 2026’s progress through middle school up to high school graduation day.
“Today is more than just a graduation ceremony — it’s a celebration for everything we have accomplished, as well as a steppingstone that will lead us to bright futures,” she said.
St. Onge said as she moved up through the grades, she remembered something she was once told, which was to “never say ‘I can’t,’ but instead to say, ‘I will try.’
“And that’s what we did,” she said.
That attitude, she said, led to a number of accomplishments as a school. She listed high academic test scores, athletics — including winning a Group II championship in wrestling — community service — such as building a water station for the homeless — countless national and all-state scholarship awards, multiple broken school records in track, participation in community service organizations, musicals and plays.
Yet, she said, the single greatest achievement was “the way we have grown together as a class.”
“Every challenge we have faced has shaped us into the people sitting here today,” she said.
St. Onge urged her fellow graduates to take a moment to look back and appreciate how far they have come. She said as individuals, they are poised to go on to higher education, some into careers and others going on to serve the community and country. Still others will continue to search for where life will lead them.
She said they all can be inspired by the accomplishments they were celebrating on graduation day.
LCMR has done away with class rankings, so there was no valedictorian or salutatorian address. Instead, graduate Nouran Moustafa presented the Academic Address, also citing accomplishments, and asked, “Where will we all end up? Who will we all become? What major successes will we all achieve?”
Yet, she said, the Class of 2026 needed to reflect on the people they are, the learning they chose, the ways they showed up and the opportunities they took over their four years at LCMR.
Moustafa said she is grateful for everything she was fortunate enough to experience.
“Some are not as fortunate to be in the positions we find ourselves in tonight,” she said.
Moutstafa thanked the teachers and staff, saying, “Your commitment is the backbone of this school.”
She said the teachers and staff challenged the Class of 2026 to ask better questions, take bigger risks and see potential in themselves before they fully saw it on their own.
Moustafa said some received the encouragement they needed, while others needed discipline. Some, she said, needed someone who believed in them during a difficult time. She said stress, rejection, failure and uncertainty were only setbacks and not reasons to give up.
“You helped build a school where students moved from ‘maybe someday’ to ‘I’m doing it now,’” she said. “That’s what LCMR is at its core.”
Opportunities and the collaboration between students and teachers at LCMR do not happen everywhere, she said.
Moustafa also highlighted particular achievements at LCMR, including the school producing athletes who broke division records, dancers, singers and performers who brought musicals and concerts to life, and students who walked away with SkillsUSA awards or earned associate degrees (six of them did) before ever even receiving their high school diploma.
Although enrollment has been declining over the years, Moustafa said being a smaller school made mentorship possible, collaboration genuine and provided every student a real chance to find where they belong.
“So, to the Class of 2026, everything this place stands for lives on because of you,” she said. “We all may no longer be a part of this school, but we will always be evidence of it.”
The principal and superintendent continued with the theme of accomplishments, after which the students received their diplomas and then listened to a Farewell Address by graduate Grace DeMatteis.
She reflected on moving from Nevada to Lower Township in her freshman year, and how terrifying it was for her not knowing what to expect or how to act. However, she said she immediately felt welcomed into the community, where she was shown so many possibilities by what her classmates accomplished.
“I remain amazed every single day at everything that we have achieved. We are a tough bunch of kids,” she said, adding that they are probably more resilient than many in attendance ever imagined being.
She said the Class of 2026 persevered through the growth of technology, the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of artificial intelligence and so much more, and have learned and grown from every experience.
DeMatteis also noted class accomplishments, such as its national scholarship winners, all-state musicians, athletes who would compete at the collegiate level, SkillsUSA champions, grant winners, future lawyers, doctors, nurses and more.
“The only box we collectively fit into is that we are proud Caper Tigers,” she said.
DeMatteis said whether it was the school’s Deck the Halls decorations for the holidays or the class’s final Spirit Stick win, they have always shown up for each other. More than that, she said, they have been able to reach accomplishments because of what they have learned at LCMR.
She said nothing would have been possible, however, without the support of family.
“From picking us up after our extracurriculars, dealing with our wild schedules, and still somehow being nice to us when we maybe aren’t being the nicest back … we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish any of this without you all. You have supported us and been there with us every step of the way, from our first day of kindergarten until now, our final day of high school,” she said.
DeMatteis concluded, saying, as they begin the next chapter of their lives — their first independent journey — they would always have the support of everyone attending the Class of 2026 graduation ceremony.
By CHRISTOPHER SOUTH/For the Star and Wave
