Seldovia Celebrates its Graduates!
by Jenny Chissus
One of the special features of going to school on a small K-12 campus is that the graduation ceremony at Susan B English School consisted of students ranging from ages 4 to 18!
We had two little ones graduating from Head Start – who will be going into Kindergarten next year, Lars Dickson and Hannah Winters, who shyly shuffled across the stage to receive their diplomas and coyly pose for the photo-op at the top of the stairs.
It was fun to watch as they enjoyed the applause and their first experience as stars on center stage. Enjoy the fabulous photos of the two moms in the aisle (Jenifer and Charity) kneeling to take the photo and give the congratulatory embrace as their graduates left the stage – priceless!
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Our largest class at SBE consists of 10 graduates from 8th grade – Kyla Appeles, Thor Burt, Calem Collier, Marina Chissus, Tim Haller, Aidan Philpot, Rosalia Purpura, Dylan Waterbury, Robert Waterbury and Darrell Wheeler. My daughter was one of the three girls who made the pass across the stage to shake hands and receive diplomas – it seems like just yesterday when she graduated from Head-Start – my how the time goes by!
We had three High School Seniors that walked the stage this year – Amanda Gain, Cameren Blodgett and Sarah O’Leary. This year was a great ceremony, mostly led by the seniors – a real change from what I experienced graduating from a school with a class of over 200 students.
The seniors had asked Pastor Jonathan Hoard to be the guest speaker for the ceremony, and he spoke of how each of these students were “fearfully and wonderfully made” and how they are in a position to “Make their life a Masterpiece”. It was a great message of hope for the exciting changes to come and anticipation for the opportunities that are in their future to grow and be their best, and a reminder to each, that they were created for greatness!
Both Sarah and Cameren spoke from their hearts, with gracious and thankful words for their community, school, family and friends. They each took a turn sharing stories of growing up together, and how special it was to share the stage with their best friends. Sarah even gave advice to the younger students, telling the boys “To be nice to the girls.” and advising the girls to “Be nice to each other – as your friends are forever.”
When each of the graduates had the opportunity to share roses and bouquets with family and friends who have made an impact on their lives, there were big hugs, tears and many, many smiles! As I was reflecting on how special this was, and I was wondering how many students have the pleasure of sharing roses of thankfulness for a teacher who has been there for them since the very beginning. Karen Bornheimer, our elementary teacher, was presented with a glorious bouquet and a thankful hug from one of the graduates.
Being able to witness the graduation of our Seldovian students at SBE is a heart-warming experience. It is sometimes said that it “Takes a Village to raise a child”, and in Seldovia – we are all proud to take part in the education, experience and lives of our young people!
When a graduate walks the stage in front of this community, we are all touched by the success and achievement of that student – with honest good will and hope for their future. I believe our students know that they have our support, our love and our encouragement as they go out from Seldovia to new adventures in work or education. Seldovia will go with them, wherever they go!
Good luck and Congratulations Class of 2012!
Category: Education, Entertainment
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