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Crystal Lake South High School Welcome Salutatory Address Valedictory Address Student Council Senior Class Certification of Graduates Farewell Good morning and welcome to the celebration of Crystal Lake South High School's graduating class of 2008. My fellow graduates, this is the last day of notes, lectures, homework, and tests; it is the last day of our high school careers. If it had not been for the people surrounding us today, our faculty, family, and friends, we would never have matured into the men and women we are now. We have grown together, learned, laughed, and loved together. Through hard work, stress, and tears we have suffered and persevered over many obstacles. Together, we have experienced days of great joy and immense sorrow. Happy or sad, good or bad, all our experiences, all our accomplishments, have lead us to this day. Now we are about to graduate together. May our achievements over the past four years serve and guide us through the many years to come. So I welcome you graduates, classmates, friends, to the first day of our future and the rest of our lives.
Dr. Suess once said, Oh The Places You'll Go!: "Congratulations! Today is our day. We're off to great places! We're off and away". I remember sitting four years ago in front of our loved ones being announced as the future class of 2008. Well today is finally here, and it's our day. But what really is today. By the end of this ceremony we will be given a diploma, certifying that we have all the necessary credits, and we will be officially high school graduates. But it is more than that. Today is a day to commemorate our four years here. We will not only be leaving with that diploma, but we will walk out of here as more mature and wiser young adults. We have all had multitudes of joy, through both people whom we love, and those perfect strangers who have touched our lives. Through these 4 years we have each overcome certain challenges, suffered pain, and experienced so much happiness, which along with the knowledge we have gained has prepared us for the road that lies ahead of us. Today is not the end it is the beginning of something new in our lives, we each have a different path ahead of us. Many of us are going off to college. Some to a trade school or to start their careers. And there are the brave few who will be going off to defend our country. Today our journey together ends, and we stand at a crossroad. All of us are taking are own path. We will all go great places. While on that path, I want everyone to remember two things. One. The people we have met and built strong relationships with here at South are important. Each one of us has been affected by a few great friends. They have stood with you through the good and the bad, and each one of them have been placed in your life for a specific reason. I have met some of the greatest people here, and I personally can't imagine what life would have been without them. So, please, remember each other, and don't lose touch. Two. Each of us has a special talent or love. We need to believe in ourselves and the gifts we have been blessed with. Find your passion, no matter where it leads you, and remember it's yours. No one can stop you, do something amazing and mark it with a road sign. I really believe that each and every one of us has the capabilities to do something great, and I wish you all success. But as Confucius said, "Wherever you go, go with all your heart." And I'm certain that "Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest."
All the Time in the World As now, finally, we are just moments away from graduation, I can't help but begin to reminisce about our days past. Remember elementary school? The times of recess on the swing set and graham cracker breaks? Then middle school, when we thought we were the coolest people around because we were officially teenagers. And finally here at South and how we were ready to graduate the moment we stepped into the school as freshmen. Time seemed so slow then, crawling by as we wished we were older, more independent, and on our own. Well here we are. And I ask myself, are we ready? Are we ready to take that extra step, extra responsibility? Yes, we are, because now, not only are we responsible for every single thing we do, but also every single thing we are. We will learn, change, and grow though our new life experiences. We must meet these experiences head on and learn our lessons. Most of all, we must be who we are. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment." We should be this accomplishment. Now is the time that we will truly be on our own with no one else to make decisions for us. We must learn to be our own person, to think for ourselves. We have our entire lives ahead of us, and it is our choice as to what we do with them. Right now, however, as we look to the future we must also see the present. Our senior year is over, a close to a major part of our lives. Look around you. These faces are your friends, enemies, and somewhere in between. Whether we realize it or not, these are the very people that have influenced us the most in high school. They have made us who we are today. As excited as we are to leave, and go out into the world we also must take the time to appreciate what we have right now: a class united. Most of all, we should appreciate the empty moments. We must stop and breathe. Just breathe long enough to realize, that we have all the time in the world.
Good morning! My name is Aaron Celmer and I am the student council president. I also served as the sophomore and junior president of the class sitting in front of you today. The traditional student council president speech requires me making obligatory comments about the exceptional behavior of our class. I should then proceed to comment on the success we achieved: successful fundraising sophomore year allowed us to afford the wonderful Renaissance Hotel for prom. Due to our outstanding behavior we were invited back this year and hopefully for many more years to come. Together we made the Blood Drives here at South a phenomenal success and set a precedent that I hope future generations will continue to uphold. And with our class, school participation achieved a high with dance attendance at record numbers. And then, of course, I would extend my own personal gratitude for having a class with relatively few altercations with administration and faculty. But, that is what I'm supposed to do. You're already aware of what you, personally, did to make south a better place. So instead, I want to talk about the ideal that was exemplified through our class: Honorable commitment to a passion. As student council president I came to know many outstanding students who felt strongly about being able to change South for the better. There were many meetings where I remember having polite, but heated debates. Much like our own nation's congress, every one in that room wanted to help our school; it just so happened that everyone had their own ideas how to do that. You see, everyone in that room was passionate about being there - and they did something about it - they made the commitment to become representatives and give up lunches, classes, and study halls to help make decisions that impacted the school daily. Every one of them demonstrated an honorable commitment to a passion. Honor comes in many forms and can be found in almost any activity, so I'm not telling you it's necessary to go out and join a community council, or volunteer every evening at a homeless shelter. But what I am urging you to do is find a something you're passionate about and commit to it. Whether it is a rec sports league, parenting (hopefully in a couple more years), shuffleboard, gardening, bowling, or moving up in your job. If you can find something that you love, commit to stick with it. Your life will be richer and you can look back and see that you accomplished something that many others lacked the unselfishness and perseverance to do. Like most things in life, however, there is a flip-side to this: not all passions are worth commitment, and not all commitments are honorable. "Call me Ishmael." Those historic words begin Herman Melville's timeless classic, Moby - Dick. For those not familiar with the book: A rare white whale takes a certain captain Ahab's leg; he develops a passionate hatred and spends his life trying to fulfill his commitment to kill the whale. Melville describes his passion in the final moments of Ahab's life, "And he piled upon the whale's white hump, the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it." Imagine what the world would be like if we had that type of passion for everything we do - if we were willing to shoot our hearts upon that things we love. However Ahab pursued vengeance and in the process lost his family, friends, humanity and ultimately his life in pursuit of fulfillment. He was consumed with his obsession and there was no honor in his existence. Be wary where your passions lie and guard your heart; make sure you passion is worth the commitment of shooting your heart upon it because you may not get a second chance. I'd like to close with a final comment: today's more than likely the final time we'll all be together and I want to tell you how much I've enjoyed getting to know you and the impact that you've had on my life. Every one of you has a wonderful story that, God willing, will continue to be written for a long time to come, upholding yourselves to the standard of honor I know you capable of to the end. Find your passion, but don't waste your life on a white whale. I wish you happiness and peace throughout your life. Thank you for being part of my life and God bless. Firstly, a big thank you to everyone here with us on this special day. This is not a speech for the administration, staff or our parents; this is a speech for us. These have been an interesting and memorable four years. From our first day nerves to all of us sitting here, barely, itching to get out of here. But just look around to the fellow student next to you. Not the fellow student, look at that person; who's locker has been by you, who you've been in class with, or maybe have only seen in the hall. We have taken this long journey together. Let's recap our final days: The days of spirit days, bleeding green and gold, nights under football lights, homecoming dances, ridiculously cold winters and not enough snow days, plays and musicals, field trips, foreign languages, boring classes (and a few great ones), first crushes, friends, teachers, embarrassing moments, high-school prom, graduation and now saying goodbye. We are accustomed to going through life with tunnel vision. Preschool, then grade school; Middle School to High School. But what happens after high- school? Life happens beyond C-hall and 5 minute passing periods. Regardless of whether you're becoming a doctor, an automotive technician or maybe something you're not sure of yet, you found yourself at Crystal Lake South. We learned boundaries of how much we could accomplish if we try. We learned how to respect and embrace our differences, and we are discovering what our destiny is. In the movie Big Fish , character Edward Bloom reflects upon growth with this, "An article about the common goldfish said that ' If kept in a small bowl, the goldfish will remain small. With more space the fish will grow double or maybe triple its' size.' It was possible that growth means we are intended for bigger things." None of us here today are going to go down the same path. There maybe similarities, but we all are here for entirely different reasons. This is just the end of a chapter in the novel of our lives. With closing this door we are leaving behind a few things as the class of 2008. Thanks to fellow officers, Dennis Muxlow and Alyssa Francini, we decided on ideas that would benefit CLS. One of them is the gift of a bench to be placed at the intricately planned butterfly garden that will be located in the courtyard by the library. Another gift is the installment of shelves in the bathrooms for our books. It was silly and unsanitary to put them on the floor, and even worse to get them wet. We learned how to deal with it and now future generations wont have to. Our last gift is the gift that gives back towards the future success of students. There is a called the Student Assistance Fund started by a former teacher at Crystal Lake South. This program helps students who can't really pay for items like a gym uniform and other things we take for granted. We are continuing the legacy of successful students, which is exactly what we are recognizing today. We all have put in the time and effort to get to these chairs we sit in today. It's amazing to see all this green and gold, even if it is for the last time. Our world has changed dramatically. Now we, the Class of 2008 are going to show how we can change the world. Thank-you Crystal Lake South, it's truly been a great experience growing up with all of you. Congratulations to you all, the class of 2008.
Welcome to all of the parents, students, relatives and friends joining us today. A special welcome to our guests of honor: Doctor Gary Oberg, Mr. Jim Nelson, Mr. David Secrest and Mrs. Karen Whitman, school board members, Dr. Jill Hawk, District 155 Superintendent and Mr. Jeff Puma, District 155 Director of Communications. I would also like to recognize our faculty and staff who are here today to support our graduates. Would you please stand? Thank you for joining us in this day of celebration and recognition. Our appreciation also to the CLS boosters and Countryside Flowers for their donations of time and decorations to enhance our ceremony. Headlines today are pretty depressing. We constantly hear about the price of gas; many people are struggling to keep their mortgages and houses remain on the market for months. The economy is in a decline and the current debate centers on whether or not the United States is experiencing a recession. In other words, doubt surrounds us. Negativity runs rampant, and people are skeptical about our future. A class graduating in this climate might be overwhelmed with anxiety. However, given the achievements this class has already made, I believe they will not only solve the problems facing our society but develop an even better world than the one in which we live today. For example, I'm sure one of the students who competed at the state level for Science Olympiad this year will develop a new fuel to resolve the gas crisis. Our debate team members would certainly challenge Hillary and Obama with their rhetorical skills as they, too, competed at state. Our school is "going green" like the rest of our county with the help of Environmental Club, who also placed first at the county environthon. Our WYSE team members, who competed in the fields of science, technology, math, and English will no doubt develop a cure for disease or write a bestselling novel. Our art and music students, many of whom displayed their talent at the Fox Valley Conference Art Show or in concerts throughout the year, will continue to bring appreciation for the arts, especially needed in times of stress. Likewise, the performers and crew who produced The Crucible, Arsenic and Old Lace and My Fair Lady will provide much needed entertainment while promoting life lessons for all of us. And our athletes, who won conference this year in cheerleading, girls basketball, girls track, and girls volleyball, Girls' softball and boys' baseball also captured regional titles. Our girls softball team isn't even here because they are playing for the sectional title. We were also represented at state in girls tennis, cross country, girls and boys track, and poms. Their leadership and team spirit to remind us that while competition is necessary and valuable, it is best accomplished with integrity and sportsmanship. In addition, the amount and variety of service this group will provide to charity will be incredible. Many of them already contributed time by volunteering at our local elementary schools; they collected food for the food pantries, they donated used sporting equipment, spent time at the retirement center, and even developed a memorial garden in our courtyard to honor those loved ones who have left us too soon. In fact, I know that this year alone, they raised over $20,000 to various charities. During their four years here, we have begun a new program, called life skills for special needs students. These seniors have been founding members of a peer support group for these young people called Best Buddies and several inclusion students are members of this class. Thanks seniors for being so accepting of these programs and kids. Yes, this is a truly special group of people. Each year, we look to the seniors to set the tone for the school year. We depend on their leadership and spirit to guide the underclassmen. It's no secret that other schools, even locally, have been struggling with many challenging issues. Our seniors, on the other hand, have been a mature, friendly and positive group. They have made CLS a great school. I have had many teachers tell me that this group will long be remembered for their generosity and warmth. Even at the end of the year when we emphasized to them to keep a focus on learning, I had no doubt or worries about this group. Yes, tomorrow morning when you open your Sunday paper you will read distressing headlines. You'll wonder how we will bounce back. Find comfort in knowing that, while these seniors have already experienced great success, they are just beginning their journey and will no doubt impact our world much they same way they have enhanced our school and community. Realize that they will accept these challenges and will embrace the unknown. They already understand that even though the future is uncertain, one constant remains. These seniors have demonstrated class and character. You restore our optimism; you remind us of what's most important. On behalf of the administration and staff, we congratulate you and anxiously wait to hear continued good news about your accomplishments. As we all sit here together today, for the last time, we are all about to begin new chapters in our lives. Today, the day we've been waiting for is finally here, to fill those last pages of the chapters dedicated to our time at Crystal Lake South. As we skim back through our filled pages we see how much we've changed and how many memories we've made over the past four years. We've had our family members by our side helping us to achieve our goals and witness our accomplishments. We've had teachers along the way who not only prepared us for our future endeavors, but also prepared us for life. Not only did they teach us, but they helped all of us to find our passions in life, guiding us to our dreams. We have made new friends and grown closer to old ones giving us the opportunity to foster friendships that will last a lifetime. In our short amount of time here at Crystal Lake South, we've had the chance to make memories that will never be forgotten. As we are about to begin a new chapter, we have to cherish those memories that we have made over the past four years. We look ahead to the blank pages of our book unsure of how the story will continue. As we say farewell to some of our family, teachers, and friends we have to thank them for giving us more opportunities than we could ever imagine. So, as we throw our hats and begin to write that next chapter in our lives, we have to say good-bye to all that we have accomplished and those that have helped along the way. As we flash through memories from the past four years we have to remember that farewell doesn't always mean forever and saying good-bye is actually different in many languages. In Italian good-bye is "arrivederci" but means until we meet again. So today instead of saying farewell I say to you all, the Crystal Lake South class of 2008, "arrivederci" until we meet again and best of luck on your new chapter.
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Crystal Lake South High School / 1200 S. McHenry Ave / Crystal
Lake, IL 60014 / 815-455-3860 Web Page questions and comments to: CLSWebClub@d155.org |
