Huron Expositor, 2009-07-08, Page 16ti.
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iUron Expos`it'or • 11`July S, 2409
•
Graduation is not the end, it's the beginning
By Samantha Georgia Karounos
Orrin Hatch stated, "There's a
good reason why they call these cer-
emonies commencement exercises.
Graduation is not the end; it's the
beginning."
Good evening and welcome parents,
teachers, and fellow classmates. We
are here today to celebrate the tran-
sition that marks the threshold of a
new milestone in our lives: our Grade
8 graduation into high school.
Not only is this milestone an impor-
tant step in our education, but is also
very important to us as individuals.
As we leave here today we will take
forward with us all of the memories
we've made, all the lessons we've
learned, and all the friendships that
we will never forget.
Here at Huron Centennial, we have
received a great education thanks to
our awesome administration; secre-
taries, EAs, custodians and teach-
ers.
At this school they didn't just teach
us Math; Geography, and English,
they taught us other characteristics
in life that are necessary to be a good
person like responsibility, optimism,
and honesty.
We also learned how to respect oth-
ers, be ourselves, and to have good
sportsmanship. Thanks to them we
are prepared to move on and take on
whatever challenges come next in
our lives.
Let us also thank this years stu-
dents' council: Rachel Hearn, Brad
Steinman, Jordan Murray, and
Claire Allan. You all did a fantastic
job being this year's student's coun-
cil! You came up with cool spirit day
ideas and did a great job with this
year's dances making them enjoy-
able for all of us students.
Grade 8 has been an amazing expe-
rience. Some of the best times were
the field trips that we went on this
year!
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say
Celtic ruled! It was definitely a posi-
tive memory and one that I will nev-
er forget. We learned fun campfire
songs, met new people, learned new
skills, and some of us had to perform
a goofy task because we got caught
with our elbows on the table like
having to spell our names with our
bottoms or running around the room
like a rocket ship, kicking our feet in
the air if "Donkey" was called.
Here at Huron Centennial, sport
tournaments were fun too! For in-,
stance the senior soccer tournament.
After a heavy rain, the soccer fields
were very wet and muddy. We still
played the tournament, but by the
end of the day, we were all slipping
through mud while holding hands
and laughing our heads off. We were
so wet and muddy by the time it was
the end of the day, they wouldn't
even let us on the buses!
The play this year, Into the Woods,
was a great success as well! A great
many thanks to Ms. Thorpe -Hearn.
We -could not have done it without
you!
Let's not forget the dances. It was a
real treat and something that we all
looked forward to, to be able to get
out of classes and be able to dance
around with your friends and have a
good time instead of sitting in class
doing work.
Our time here at Huron Centennial
has taught us many life lessons that
we will not forget. Years from now
we will look back with fond memo-
ries of the time that we spent togeth-
er learning to become ourselves and
enjoying every carefree minute of it.
As we take this next step into our
lives, we will be met with many op-
portunities and obstacles. The choic-
es that we make WILL affect our fu-
ture.
We may be faced with difficult deci-
sions...
But, one thing is for certain, Hu-
ron Centennial has helped us to
grow into strong individuals, and no
matter what decisions may come our
way, I know that because of the les-
sons that we learned here at Huron
Centennial, we WILL make the right
decisions!
"There's a good reason why they
call these ceremonies "commence-
ment exercises." Graduation is not
the end; it's the beginning."
Please join me in congratulating
my fellow students as we take our
first steps into the rest of our lives.
Oh, the places we'll go, the people we will be!
From Page 12
If you are having trouble with an art
project, Renee is the one to turn to for
help with drawing anything. Although
Ren can be quiet, and take the littlest
bites out of her sandwich at lunch time,
she has always been so nice to • every-
body and watching her laugh so hard
she starts to cry can bring a smile to
anyone's face.
Jacob McClure - Jake gets hurt often
but is the kind of guy who would take
one for the team. He showed this dur-
ing a soccer game in gym class when he
jumped to' head the ball and while in the
air collided with Matt, leaving him with
a black eye.
Darby Oster - Darbs is the girl to turn
to at recess if you just want to shoot
hoops or play catch. Darby is really good
at baseball and many other sports. She
is fun and full of compliments. It is very
easy to hold a conversation with Darby
because she's very selfless and will talk
about your interests. Darbs is constantly
building people up and making them
aware of their talents.
Roos Kemerink - Roos joined our class
in Grade 3. When we were younger we
always asked Roos many questions
about life back in Holland. Roos shared
with us about life in a different conti-
nent. She 'really opened our eyes to real-
ize that there is more then just here and
now. Thanks Roos.
Matthew Coyne - While dTding what
to write about Matt, we revisited a roof-
top picture from 2004/2005 and we have
to say, Matt looks exactly the same. Ex-
cept now, he's about a foot taller. His
looks haven't changed and neither has
his personality. Matt has always been a
really nice guy.
Logan Bruxer - Logan has played many
roles in our classroom, from teacher's
pet, Miss Wag, to trouble maker. But, Lo-
gan has always been funny guy. One
day in Grade 7 we had a supply teacher
and Logan thought that he would lead
the class in a mass textbook drop. If the
kacher that was in that day would have
i�i own who led the shinanigans, Logan
would be the trouble -maker, but since
they had no idea, Logan was again our
funny man. This year Logan played one
of the main roles in our, school's produc-
tion oWilly Wonka Jr. and then took a
role in the Grand Bend production of Ol-
iver. It is not surprising that he got these
roles, not only because he has a nice
singing voice, but also because he has a
charming presence on and off stage.
Sabrina Meidinger - Sabrina is one of
the funniest, out going, wildest and kind
hearted person I have ever met. Sabrina
also has so many incredible talents like
her power house hits in baseball, her
swimming skills, and one of my favou-
rites - her many voices she can do. Sa-
brina also wrote one of the best speeches
St. James has heard in a long time. She
was an inspiration to many younger
kids in our school. Anyone any shape,
size, young, old, big or small could turn
to Sabrina for anything and she wouldn't
think twice about helping them out. Sa-
brina is her self around anyone she meets
and is truly one of our greatest assets to
our class. I would like to wish her all the
best next year at CHSS and would like
to thank her for making my time at St.
James so much fun!
Miss Dolmage - Miss Dolmage has
definitely been one of the best teach-
ers we've had along the way. We could
go to her for anything, whether it be a
pencil, help with a math problem, or any
issue we may encounter, we can trust
her. Miss Dolmage has also been one of
the most easy-going teachers we've had.
She's the one to always give us a second
chance and believes that we won't make
the same mistake twice. We consider you
to be our 30th classmate and we'd really
like to thank you for a wonderful year.
You made our last year at Saint James
that much more special.
Like Ms.Dolmage" always taught us,
we can do anything. So class of 08/09, I
challenge you to ask yourself what our
class as a whole will contribute to our so-
ciety in the future. We have some ideas
of our own.
Not only will be contribute 12 hand-
some guys and 17 beautiful girls, but
maybe a few doctors, some teachers,
maybe a lawyer, an artist, a baker, a de-
signer, some NHL players, maybe even a
surgeon. Or maybe that big lawyer will
be strolling down the streets of Toronto
and see oneof their classmates on the
side of the road and although they may
look and smell different, you still won't
fail to say "Hey, there's Logan Bruxer.
What are you doing out there?" "Pennies
for the poor ." Although poverty may
have taken them, they are still that kind
person you remember from Grade 8.
Although you may be the best at your
profession, you may still lose a case, put
in the wrong ingredients, or miss on a
wide open net, but when it comes down
to it, we're all human, and we all make
mistakes, and don't kid yourself, ' you
will make a mistake. But I want you to
remember, we may screw up, but a wise
man once told me,
" Even Tiger Woods can't win every golf
tournament!"
I once heard the phrase "Oh the places
we'll go, Oh the people we'll see." But I
think a more appropriate phrase for our
class would be "Oh the places we'll go,
Oh the people we will be!" Thanks for
coming out everybody, and congratula-
tions graduates, We Made It!