Sister schools 3,000 miles apart brought together by Saugus teacher

SAUGUS – Saugus High humanities teacher Richard Lavoie got to experience two Saugus High School graduations this year.A week before Friday?s commencement, Lavoie and juniors Gianna Zirpolo and Gillian Lyons headed out to Saugus, Calif. for a tour of their sister school.?I met so many nice people,” said Lavoie. “The popular conception I had of Southern California, like valley girls, was definitely not there ? It?s still so overwhelming. Once we got back from Europe, I barely had time to digest that trip and all of a sudden I have this other really impactful trip on my life as well. It?s surreal.”The trip was in response to a care package Lavoie sent to the high school after the Sandy Hook shooting. Lavoie said he sent the package as a sign of appreciation for teachers at his sister school. Little did he know that random act of kindness would go national and result in a trip to California.?One of the things I really picked up from it is that there?s a lot of good people out there,” said Lavoie. “When we get a chance to do more good, it?s a little easier than we expect.”Lavoie, Lyons and Zirpolo flew out to Los Angeles on May 23, rented a car, and drove about an hour north to the Santa Clarita Valley, a city made up of the four neighborhoods of Canyon Country, Newhal, Valencia and Saugus. There they met with Saugus High School Principal Bill Bolde and two Saugus High students.?The two girls I brought immediately hit it off,” said Lavoie. “You couldn?t have asked for a better group of kids from both ends of the country. I talked to Gillian today and she said she?s still tweeting back and forth almost on a daily basis ? so they became really good friends.”The three attended commencement that night, where 560 students graduated in front of nearly 10,000 people.Bolde talked about Lavoie in his speech and the care package he received. He then awarded the Saugus, Mass. contingent with the Order of Centurion Pride, which is a 12-inch bust of a Roman centurion, before Lavoie spoke to the crowd.?I simply thanked them for the award and told the kids to choose the path of being nice to people as opposed to not being nice to people,” said Lavoie. “It was really neat because they gave us a standing ovation. The girls were kind of blown away by that, having so many people stand for them.”The next day they woke up and had breakfast at The Original Saugus Cafe before heading back to Saugus High School for a tour, which included meeting more students and teachers and filming a segment for the high school news network where Lyons and Zirpolo discussed the difference between California and Boston accents.The three then went on a tour of Santa Clarita Valley, which included a stop at a house once owned by the founder of Saugus, Calif. Anthony Newhall.?There was a train there and what was really cool for me, is the train had a serial number painted on it and that serial number was 1629. It?s a weird coincidence but that?s the year our Saugus was settled. I was kind of freaked out by it. People said, ?Oh it?s just a coincidence.? Yeah, but that?s a really strange coincidence. It still kind of gives me chills.”That night they met up with more Saugus students and Bolde and after watching a football scrimmage, they all went to the mall.?We went to the mall with eight or nine kids and the principal and I, so it must have been the coolest night out at the mall for the kids,” joked Lavoie. “But they had a really good time ? It really was like they had been friends for years.”On Saturday Lavoie, Lyons and Zirpolo spent the day around Los Angeles and got to see famous sites like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory and the next day they spent the day in at Venice Beach and Santa Monica before heading back to Saugus, Mass.While he?s only been back for two weeks, Lavoie said he and Bolde are already talking about bringing Saugus Calif. Students to Massachusetts some time in the winter.?I can see us trudging