Today is the day we have all dreamed about, sat around for many late nights wondering when this

Families and friends welcome to Montgomery Village Middle School 8th grade promotional ceremony. Today we embark on a new chapter of our lives as we end our middle school careers. We’ve spent the past three years of our lives in this wonderful place. We were given the opportunity to grow and learn. Our teachers, one of our biggest supporters, the ones we have built relationships with. Our teachers have seen us grow. They have been our guiding hands throughout our middle school career. The teachers in this school deserve the world. They motivate us each and every one of us each day. Most of us were able to mature throughout middle careers. We’ve grown aware of our surroundings. We’re all well aware of what’s to come as we open the next chapter

One of the proudest accomplishments of my life was receiving my bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida. As I approached the stage, I put one foot in front of the other and tried my hardest not to stumble. The crowd roared loudly, I could see Knightro dancing in the corner, it was my turn. In the three seconds that I walked across the stage, I felt a plethora of emotion but most of all… I felt fear because on the other side of the platform was the rest of my life. Unfortunately, my “life after graduation” plan was short-lived, as I found it very difficult to find employment within the first three months of graduating.

From the outset of the story there is an overwhelming sense of hope that has enveloped the entire community and school with the upcoming graduation.

As I stand before you all at the end of our senior year, giving this speech, let’s reminisce in some of our memorable pasts. Looking back, we’ve made many great memories in the midst of earning an

It’s hard to believe that we are actually sitting here in the auditorium for the last time as students of Kheradmand High. But we are! We made it through four years of high school. Now we are teetering on the edge of the rest of our lives, having to grow up and head out into the “real” world. That thought might scare some people, but we are ready. After all, if you decide that you don’t want to be a part of the real world, maybe, you can always come back to Kheradmand High and maybe they will let you be a teacher.

Scribe a child’s story and have the children act it out, ala Vivian Paley. Describe the process.

It was May 25, 2018 at 7:47 in a steaming hot gymnasium when the name Anthony Joseph Sansalone was getting called from the loud speaker, the sixth to last person to receive their diploma I begun shaking the hands of all the board members and everything that I had known from the last 13 years at the same school was over and a new chapter of my life was stating to begin. A few seconds after receiving my diploma the Class President guided us to changing of our tassels from right to left then commencement was over and I was walking out with my future roommate at BGSU, Vincent Zhang, we looked at each other knowing that our high school career was descending and our college careers were lifting off together. High school was tuff for me due to the fact that I have know what I wanted to do since I was a freshman, I want to become an animator and work for an Academy Award winning company such as

At the close of my senior year, I was overcome with bittersweet emotion. After years of working hard to secure my future, which came with getting accepting into my dream school at Christmas, I was hit with crushing news. Consequently, I was told that my family wouldn’t have enough money to send me to the college of my dreams. I was emotionally crushed, however, my senior year AP Literature and Composition teacher spoke encouragement into me. She reassured me that this trial that I am going through won’t last forever; she expressed to never give up and continue to work my hardest to achieve my dreams. Everyday , she was persistent in her challenges, picking me up when I stumbled, disclosing that she would do everything in her power to help me. After

We are all leaving the nest and flying in different directions. Some of us will move on to a school just across campus, while others will leave to a school thirty minutes away from here. I know we are all anxious and excited to be leaving the building that some of us have been practically living in since kindergarten. I have created so many memorable moments here that I will never forget. Today, I ask you to look around you. Who do see before you? I see parents that have worked hard to give us the opportunity to learn and are now so proud of our growth. I see teachers who have taught us so much more that just Algebra or English. Then, I see us, the formal leaders of the school. We are known as the eight graders, but I see us as a giant 40 person family. We are united by the common factor of our graduation. So today as we receive our much-coveted diplomas in our navy cap and gowns, I ask you to indulge in these last following days with your fellow

After 13 years, it’s all come to an end. No more assignments, no more tests, no more uniform, no more school. To the majority of you, this fact probably still hasn’t really hit home yet, and to be honest, I don’t think that I’ve fully grasped this fact either. That soon, we will be stepping out of the relative safety of TSS and entering into a harsh, and unforgiving new world. But as we -the graduating class of 2016- step out into this new world, it is not as though TSS has not prepared us for this day.

This year, June, I will become the first person in my family to graduate with an academic honors diploma. In June I will attend one of the best schools nationwide, Seton Hall University. Despite these accomplishments, I’m proud of the time I’ve dedicated to my community and extracurricular events. I’m proud of the placements and the letter I've received for Speech and Debate, the influential positions I’ve gained in Student Council, and my presidency of BPA. Ultimately, I’m proud that I destroyed the barriers of statistics and the perception that an apple doesn’t fall too far from a tree.

I proceeded to walk down the aisle slowly becoming aware of the acrobats doing summersaults in my stomach. With such great prestige I heard the announcer’s voice, “Gerdwine Bourdeau.” Still in displacement of what had just occurred, rivers of joy rushed down my face. In quick pursuit, I shook President Welsh’s hand, turned my cheek and gleamed a smile towards the camera. In an instant flash the proudest moment of my life quickly became a realization. As of August 2016 I would be a graduate student of East Stroudsburg University. All the tears of joy and stressful nights would eventually become memories I tap into over lunch with a group of alumni friends. The ceremony quickly came to an end. Myself as well as hundreds of students rushed in search of their families. I had become overwhelmed in the confusion to only hear a lonely voice over the crowd shout in creole “Gerdwine, Gerdwine!” Moments later I stood in front of my first love, my parents. They gazed with admiration and joy, as I stared into their eyes and seen hard working immigrants from Haiti. Raising seven children wasn’t always easy, they worked day in and day out hiking 12 flights of stairs in a Brooklyn apartment building. All to make sure their children received an education that they were unable to obtain.

I speak for all of us when I say that looking back on our years at Cataldo, and the memories that we have made, I find myself immensely grateful for having had the opportunity to have attended such a well-rounded school not only academically, but also spiritually, socially, and physically. The past six years have flown by, it’s hard to imagine that in two years or less, we will receive our driver’s licenses and in four we will graduate high school and go on to college. As we make plans that will take us beyond Cataldo, we realize that it will forever have a lasting affect on who we are. Today we part with what has been familiar to us for the majority of our lives’. With the next years, to define who we are and what we become, we will never forget what we have learned here at Cataldo, all the opportunities that we have been given, and the memories that we have created together. We are here today excited for what the future holds. We must say goodbye to, but never forget our years at Cataldo so that as this chapter in our lives’ ends, we are ready to begin the

With a sunburst hitting campus, the path to the library lights up, and a feeling of reassurance immerses upon me. Brightness, and a certain optimism begin to blossom, around me, as I recall the great times with the people that have impacted my life in a wondrous way, and once arriving where all the meaningful stories are kept I can not help but look around as I become surrounded by stories. The room filled with bookcases, book cases filled with stories, my stories, or rather memories filled with inexplicable delight. Pulling out a book to reminisce the short lived moments filled with positivity. So sudden and quick, yet long lasting. Flipping the pages to my story, proud that I have been strong enough to put up with certain battles. Once opening the book, I find ,myself looking at the most incredible memories I have created at this very institution. The memories that lead to my self-discovery. The journey through discovering my self-worth, from deciding that I would only allow encouraging people into my life, to realizing who had good intentions and who did not. Memories that reminded me what it was look forward to a promising

As the end of the night approached us, I couldn’t stop thinking about how many mixed emotions I had about starting a whole new chapter in my life. I couldn't wait to go to college, meet all new people, get a degree so that I could start my career path, but I knew that meant I had to say goodbye to my two best friends, who were moving several hours away from me. This was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do in my life. We all cried a little, and then made promises to keep in touch, and then we were off into the real world! I was very happy to be at this point in my life, but I was scared deep down inside.