Boxer Birthday Party Friday Night

NOTE: Originally posted Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010
The Brockton Post
BROCKTON—Get ready for a big celebration Friday during the Boxers football game in honor of the 40th anniversary of Brockton High School and the Community Schools Program.
“It’s really a big birthday party,” said High School Principal Susan Szachowicz, a member of the Class of 1971, the first to graduate from Brockton High after it opened Sept. 16, 1970.
Friday night’s 7 p.m. football game literally kicks off a year-long celebration marking the high school’s anniversary and organizers promise a fun time, punctuated by the talents of current students.
“The students are our future,” Szachowizc said. “I always say I have the best seat in the house during graduation because I’m facing the students and I can see their faces—I can see the smiles on their faces and the shine in their eyes,” she said.
Hundreds, possibly thousands of alumni are expected for Friday’s Homecoming game which from 5 to 7 p.m. will feature a special tent for Brockton High alumni that will have chili, chowder and other goodies donated by Chartwells—the company that provides food service to Brockton High.
Before the Boxers take the field against Fitchburg for the Homecoming Game, Szachowicz said she, Mayor Linda Balzotti and Superintendent Matthew Malone will offer brief comments, but the real show will come at halftime when Brockton High’s award-winning band will perform among other selections, a special program in honor of the school’s 40th birthday.
There will also be a special finale when the band, majorettes and dancers will make a human #40 on the field.
Szachowicz said alumni from across the country are coming for the celebration, while those who can’t make it, like a group loosely dubbed “Boxers in the Big Apple,” will share a toast in New York City in honor of the school’s 40th.
“People really want to be a part,” she said.
City Councilor-at-Large Todd Petti, whose family has been in the city for decades and who also was a member of the 1971 inaugural class said Brockton High has much more to offer than many of the suburban schools surrounding the city.
“There is something for everyone whether you’re an advanced student, struggling student, athlete or artist, Brockton High has so much to offer,” he said.
During his four years of high school, Petti said he took Italian classes because he thought it would be fun.
When he was stationed in Italy as a young serviceman, the classes came in handy and while it may not be a work of art, Petti said he still has a penguin-shaped end table he made in woodshop.
“This high school has so many memories and so many good people and staff,” Petti said. “I’m really looking forward to Friday,” he said.