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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-10-17, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019. Central Huron Secondary School •• CC oo ll oo uu rr PP rr ii nn tt ii nn gg •• PPoo ss tt ee rr ss •• BB rr oo cc hh uu rr ee ss •• EE nn vv ee ll oo pp ee ss && LL ee tt tt ee rr hh ee aa dd •• WW ee ''ll ll ""ii mm PP rr ee ss ss "" yy oo uu 519-523-9211 email:blythprint@ezlink.on.ca Flour Mill HOWSON & HOWSON LTD. Blyth 519-523-4241 Congratulations Graduates! For all your insurance needs... TODD WHEELER INSURANCE INC. Box 394, 75 Sports Drive, Brussels • 519-357-0155 twheeler@mckillopmutual.com Congrats Grads! 519-357-2222 nixon@execulink.com www.stevennixon.com Congratulations to all the Graduates! Steven Nixon Real Estate Broker Serving the area since 1999 MacGregor honoured to be Valedictorian By Sam MacGregor Mr. Smith, teachers, parents, guests and, most importantly, fellow graduates. Good evening, everyone. I am very honoured to be chosen to be the valedictorian for the graduating class of 2019. Over the past four years here at Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) we have learned a lot. It’s hard to believe that tonight marks the end of this chapter. It seems like just yesterday we were brought into this very gym, a bunch of annoying ninth graders, all from different schools who really didn’t know each other. I don’t know about you, but I was kind of nervous back then. Being the youngest kid in my family, I had heard lots of things about CHSS from my siblings through the years. Things about the teachers, the food and the school work. Was it good? Was it bad? I’ll never tell, but some of you teachers have lived up to my expectations. At CHSS, we have learned many important things like the Pythagorean theorem and how to balance chemical equations, which I have to admit I still don’t understand. Lucky for me I had smart friends and patient teachers, who had my back. Thanks Jake McClure, though you aren’t here, but way in far off exotic places! The knowledge we have gained in our classes will no doubt be valuable as we go forward in life, but I think that the most important thing we have learned is to be independent and to push through challenging situations. I’m not saying we are completely independent, (not financially, mom and dad, I still need you for that), but we have learned to become more independent academically and to believe in ourselves. At the beginning of June, when a group of us were attending the D- Day event in France, Mr. Barton and Mr. Yates told us that we might not all know each other very well when we left, but when we get back from our trip we’d all be better friends. And it was true. It was true of the trip, but I think it’s also true of this past four years. We started out in Grade 9, a lot of us not knowing each other. At Grade 9 day, we looked at each other wondering, who are they? I didn’t know a lot of you when I started here at high school, but as we’ve travelled up and down the halls of the school, yes, I know it’s not the same as traveling in Europe, but we have become really good friends. Now, if there are any younger siblings in the audience, you should wake up, this is for you. I have some tips from the graduating class of 2019 to pass on to you. Here are a few things we have learned over the past four years: • We have learned the hard way that writing an essay on the last night is not always the best. • We learned that Wikipedia is not the most reliable source. Thanks Kuiper and Middleton, yes we were paying attention. We also learned that winging a presentation will end up like this one. • We’ve learned that cramming the night before an exam, though not particularly effective, got many of us by, and we’ve learned that being true to yourself matters. • We’ve also learned that Wednesdays are the best day of the week to forget your lunch because it was Heather’s Homemade Hamburger Day in the cafeteria. • We’ve learned that if you ever feel like talking, Student Services is the place to be, and Ms. Yantzi loves to chat. • We’ve learned that walking from Clinton to Varna for Redwalk is really not that far when you do it with your friends, especially when you’re missing classes to do it. • We’ve learned that Mr. Zachar, Mr. Greidanus and Mr. Van Bakel can project their voices effectively to silence a room. • We’ve learned that we can survive Math EQAO and the Grade 10 literacy test and that Grade 9 geography with Mr. Gilbert is not actually the hardest thing we would ever have to do. • We’ve learned that Cheryl Adams, despite seeing us for the fourth time in a day for a late slip always had a smile. • At prom two weeks ago, we learned that we clean up pretty good and like to have fun. Prom was a moment that we’ve heard about since we watched High School Musical. Now, to be 100 per cent honest, I was so busy dancing I don’t remember much about prom, but the prom committee and school did a fantastic job, it couldn’t have been more perfect. • Finally, we’ve learned that commitment is essential on the journey to success, because no matter how hard something is, you must keep going. Never give up on the things and the people who really matter to you. We will take the things we have learned, good memories and the experiences we have had with us as we move onto the next chapter of our lives. The next few years will be different. Different tasks, different places, different people. In lots of ways, we might be scared, just like we were on that first day of Grade 9. But we are different now. We are smarter, we are more independent and we should be proud of ourselves. As we all get ready for the next part of our journey, remember that we are the driver of our own cars. The road is ahead and it’s up to each of us to decide which one to take. We’ll all need to focus because this is our chance to become the people we’ve always wanted to be. Believe in yourself and in your dreams. In life, don’t let anybody tell you what you can or cannot do. Some of the most successful people in history have struggled and had many obstacles in their way. For example, Beethoven was deaf and everyone said that he couldn’t become a musician, but did he listen? Finally, I’d like to take a moment on behalf of myself and my fellow graduates to thank the people who have gotten us here. Our teachers, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends and everyone else, you know who you are. We sincerely thank you. Fellow graduates, it’s been my pleasure to get to know you. As we say goodbye to CHSS, the staff and our Phoenix family, there might be some hugs and there might even be a few tears, but we’re all going to be alright. We are smart, we are ready and we promise that we’ll do our best to stay in touch. Now it’s time to move on in new directions but we’ll never forget where we grew up and the people who made it possible. We’ll live our lives and do our best, just like you’ve taught us to do. Thank you all. Sam MacGregor, Valedictorian Central Huron Secondary School CHSS awards grads At its 2018/2019 commencement ceremony, Central Huron Secondary School honoured dozens of students for their hard work, perseverance and talents with a number of awards. • Kayla Gauthier, Governor General’s Medal for the highest academic average. • Al Jewson Agricultural Award, Quinn Driscoll. • B.M. Ross and Associates Ltd. Award, Masa Ono. • B&M Fine Furniture Award, Kaila Nesbitt. • Badminton Club Award, Kyle Josling. • Bayfield Optimist Club Award, Julie Chun. • Bruce Power Future Innovator Award, Robbie Marriage. • Bruce Power Women in Trades Award, Emily Nicholson-Bjerg. • Canadian Parents for French FSF4U Award, Kelly Brinke. • CHSS Art Award, Lacey Papple. • CHSS Business Studies Scholarship, Kelly Brinke. • CHSS Drama Award, Kate Otterbein. • CHSS Student Council – Lynne Godkin Award, Kayla Beyerlein- O’Brien. • CHSS Student Council – Bill Shore Award, Sam MacGregor. • Clinton and District Kinsmen Club Award – MCV4U, Kayla Gauthier. • Clinton Family Physicians’ Award, Brett Cook. • Clinton Lions Club Award, Tanner Boven. Continued on page 24