Good evening and welcome to all our parents, grand
parents, extended family members and special guests. This is a very special time and we are so
pleased to be here celebrating with you.
I’d like to send out a special welcome to our
trustee representative from our Board of Education. I’d like to publically thank our trustees for
their caring, dedicated service in support of public education. On behalf of
all of us, we thank you for your continued faithful service to our students and
district.
I’d also like to send a special welcome and thank
you to our Superintendents for their guidance and support in helping our school
community navigate this past school year.
Your guidance and commitment to leadership in education have been a
constant source of support for all of us at the local school level.
I would also like to thank our PAC for the work you
do in collectively representing our parent community. Your regular attendance
and participation at our monthly meetings has been very much appreciated. Our
PAC has done a great job serving as the voice for our school community and has
done a great job ensuring PAC funds have been appropriately allocated to our
school.
To the teachers and staff, many of whom are here
with us tonight: I want to publically thank you for all that you do. As the principal,
I take enormous pride in recognizing the efforts of our teachers and support
staff. Our dedicated staff are committed to student learning and remain
the foundation of our students success. This year has had its trials, but I can
honestly say that in light of the many issues we faced, our staff remained
professional and committed to student learning.
Now for
the Sullivan Heights Graduating Class of 2012
Let me give the class of 2012 the warmest
congratulations. You deserve your accolades on this day, your graduation day.
You all look spectacular sitting
here in all your splendor. What a year it’s been.
Some highlights from our year:
- We started the year off with the Grad Masquerade Boat Cruise – It was a great night and I especially liked it when you dragged your VP’s out on the dance floor.
- We had Grad WinterFest & Grad Spirit Week – from the formal WinterFest to the funky attire of spirit week, you all glowed with pride.
- Then we had the impromptu “Flash Mobs” in the Hub at lunch – Michael Jackson’s Thriller was awesome.
- Then there was the infamous backwards 2 in the 2012 Grad Cup Capper – I still believe it was planned that way.
- I cannot forget Ms. Philips, Biology 12 Digestion T-shirts and being serenaded in my office by a class of Bi 12 students.
- We had Mr. Vaughn’s Environmental Stewardship and Leadership Program earning accolades and recognition at the School District Board meeting – very well done!
- We had the great work of our Global Issues Club doing charitable work in support of local and international charities.
- Our Bhangra team taking the top prize at the provincial competition.
- Our Drama Department’s production of “Faulty Towers”.
- Our Sr. Chemistry and Spanish classes serenading Christmas carols throughout the school.
- And of course our Sr girls volleyball and Sr boys basketball trips to Hawaii.
One of the best highlights of the year happened by chance and as a by-product of our school’s move to open wireless. Those of you who follow us on twitter know what I’m talking about. It started early and took off with great flare. The Sullivan Heights Twitter Hash tag #1000awesomethingsaboutsulli. Over the course of the year, through Twitter, staff and students posted 100’s of comments about what they thought was awesome about Sullivan Heights. In a society that often blames social media for the bullying that can happen in school, it has been a breath of fresh air to see social media being used in such a positive way. The positive energy was infectious and helped nurture a positive culture and energy in our school.
As the seniors in our school, I
want to thank you for the tone you helped set and for the energy you brought to
school everyday. You have been great role models for our younger students and have
been the life force behind Sullivan Pride.
A few
words for you as you embark on the next stage of your life
For the past 13 years, there have been many adults
in your life guiding you, helping you and encouraging you to hold yourself to
the highest standard. The fact that you’re sitting here is testimony to your
hard work, sacrifice, perseverance, and dedication.
Today we recognize and celebrate your graduation
from high school, one of the many milestones in life!
Now is the time to take stock of yourself and
examine what you’ve accomplished and plan for where you want to be. Your past must now transition into your
future. You are adults now and must decide which standards you will hold
yourself to. I very much hope each of you will start to define your own
standards and work to live up to them.
At the beginning of the year in
our first assembly, I gave you my 3 secrets to “Success at School”. Here they are again, but now in terms of the
rest of your life.
In September I told you that in
order to be successful at school, you had to show up, that you had to be here.
You see Grads, the same principle applies in life. Life requires you to show
up. Success in life is grounded in being present and giving of yourself on all
levels. You must be present! This sounds
simple, but many of us know that it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of not
making time for yourself and others. As the busyness of life takes over, it’s
easy to put things off and not follow through. My advice to you is to find a
balance so that you’re able to be present in all that you do. It won’t be easy;
you will find it difficult, you will be pulled in many directions.
Relationships, careers and family will all want a piece of you; the secret is
to find a balance so that you can be present in all areas of your life.
The second secret I told you was
that you have to do the work. No real surprise right! Well, you see, life also requires you to do
the work: you have to put in the time. Please don’t leave us thinking that life
is going to be handed to you. Be aware of the “Quarter Life” crisis. Far too
many young people think that the good life is just going to be handed to
them. For young people in their mid
20’s, reality hits and they suddenly figure out that life actually requires
work… many, many hours of hard work.
Grads… listen to me. Life is not fair; get used to it. Trust me when I
say that you’re better off not heading out of these doors thinking that life is
going to be handed to you. The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world
will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. You
have to put the time in and do the work!
My 3rd secret is the
key to it all. It’s the secret
ingredient that makes it all worthwhile. You see parents; I told them that in
order to be successful in school, they had to “Smile”. Simply translated,
meaning that you must seek to find relevance in what you do - find meaning for
all your actions. Happiness is found in knowing that the work you do and the
relationships you nurture will make a difference not only for yourself but also
for everyone around you. Material things
will come and go; it’s the experiences and relationships that provide the glue
that shapes who we are. As you start to navigate your career paths, I ask you
to be mindful of what really matters to you and to the people you care about.
You can spend a lifetime amassing toys and possessions, but having possessions
without having meaning and love in your hearts leaves an empty life.
Just before we depart, I’d like to
add a fourth to my list… My 4th piece of advice for you is to be
courageous!
Life’s opportunities are not
always obvious, so always be on the look out.
Opportunities sometimes come in fleeting moments, sometimes unannounced
and sometimes from unlikely sources. For some of these moments, you will not
have a shoulder to lean on or someone to consult.
Believe me grads; when I say to
you that some of these moments can and will be defining moments in your life…
The challenge you’ll have is to
first recognize that you are being given an opportunity and second, to muster
the courage to rise up and take it. The
courage is often described as the “30 seconds of courage” needed to make a
defining life decision. Far too many adults have stories filled with “what
if’s” and “I should have”. Finding
courage in these defining moments can be extremely difficult. When these moments present themselves, and
believe me they will, you need to look deep inside yourself and find the
courage to rise up. Have the courage to do what’s right, have the courage to go
against the status quo, have the courage to make a difference in this world!
To conclude Grads, I have one final thought I want
to leave you with. As you leave us, know that we are all so very proud of you.
As many of you know, when I speak about our school and community, I refer to it
as “our home”. If you calculate the
number of hours you’ve spent with us, I think it’s fair to say that we really
have served as your extended family. In Latin it’s referred to as “In Loco
Parentis”… With that in mind, I want you to know… from your extended family… we
know you are ready to take leave and spread your wings and we are excited for
you. With some sadness… we will miss you… but with excitement and great
anticipation, we can’t wait to see what you accomplish. With this, I leave in
your hearts the notion that Sullivan Heights is your home and you will always
have a place here with us.
You will always remain in our hearts as members of
our Sullivan Heights Family. From this day forward, please look back with pride
that you will always be a Sullivan Height’s STAR.
I leave you with a short poem written by William
Saroyan entitled “In The Time of Your Life”
In the time of your life – live. Seek
goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of it’s hiding place
and let it be free and unashamed.
Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond
corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into
secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Ignore the obvious,
for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart.
Be the inferior of no man, or of any men be superior.
Remember that every man is a variation of yourself.
In the time of your life - live, so that in that
wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but
shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.
Grads… To you… We give you the world… and with that
… I know that all is right.
Grad Class of 2012, let me congratulate you and
wish you all the most fulfilling and successful of lives, you all deserve it.
Identify the
stakeholders… Trust the
process… Trust the people…
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