At the start of Wednesday’s Graduation Mass, Maya and Brynja!
Welcome Sacred Heart students and families. Today is a special day for the 8th grade class. We gather here to celebrate the graduation and departure of the class of 2021. We must never forget the welfare and kindness the class has performed overtime. We have been through so many obstacles both in class and on zoom, but somehow, we were able to work our way through those obstacles and reach success.
Thank you Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Basamanowicz, Mrs. Vazquez, Ms. Espinosa, Mrs. Dwyer and Ms. Carney for teaching us the basics and thank you Mrs. Clemmensen, Mrs. Gaither, and Mrs. Manning for preparing us for high school. The past years with all of you will be memorable and close to heart.
We also want to thank Mrs. Benner for leading all of us through many great years here at Sacred Heart School. Thank you Father Al for being an amazing priest and teaching us the ways of Jesus Christ. And thank you Sacred Heart staff for helping us along the way.
Lastly, we would like to thank each and every one of our parents for providing us with a Catholic education. Without you we would not be who we are today! So thank you and go Cardinal Strong!
At the close of Wednesday’s Graduation Mass, Sophia and Livia!
Sacred Heart School, the place where we met 9 years ago, the place where two little girls in kindergarten created a bond that grew greater each year.
Kindergarten was the place where we sang hokey pokey outside, before our 15-minute naps. First grade, the place where we learned to behave so we would not be clipped down but instead hope for “good notes”. Second grade where we continued to grow our faith, preparing for our First Holy Communion, and sent miniature picture versions of ourselves around the world. Next, was intermediate grades, which not only prepared us for middle school but introduced us to amazing books such as Wayside School, Number the Stars, Wonder, and Murder at Midnight. We were also introduced to silent ball, football math, and could not wait to play new games with Mrs. Petersen in P.E. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
While kindergarten through fifth grade was filled with amazing and special memories, middle school we will never forget. Mrs. Clemmensen made us all feel welcomed when giving us a bagel breakfast on the first day of sixth grade…just in case we had forgotten to eat that morning. She continued her kindness through fun computer games, CNN 10, interesting religion lessons, and always updating us on what was happening in the world and in history. Thank you for your guidance and for always leading us spiritually.
To Mrs. Gaither who improved our writing skills and always gave us great books, little fun projects along with the books and interesting movies for us enjoy. Thank you for boosting our knowledge and getting us ready for high school essays.
And to Mrs. Manning…thank you for letting us be kids. Letting us joke around even if we didn’t finish our work and for always making us laugh. This was one of the hardest years for everyone, but you somehow managed to make it fun. We love how you let us enjoy our time together once our worksheets were done and NEVER let us out of zoom early. But most importantly, thank you for being someone we could always talk to. Whether you were hearing the tea about what was going on in our class or talking about your grandchildren, you were always there for us to talk to. You made us feel like we could tell you anything and everything whenever we wanted because you made us feel safe. You make it seem as if we were talking to our own moms….telling them everything. Hopefully, in high school, we can create a similar bond with our new teachers, but EGADS Mrs. Manning they will have some shoes to fill.
We use to think that being 8th graders meant we would have scary teachers, be loaded with work and be miserable, but Mrs. Manning proved us wrong by being an amazing teacher and role model and making our last year memorable. Thank you for all that you did.
These past 9 years have taught us to be loving, caring, appreciative, faithful, intelligent people. We have been through stress, laughter, tears, friendships, zoom and more, but whatever we did, we did together. From singing Blue Ribbon Bunny to Mrs. Fries at recess, to walking to “families” together, from practicing our parts in plays, looking at each other’s science projects, to making up handshakes still to this day…We were always side by side.
Thank you Mrs. Benner, Mr. Hinojosa, all the teachers, aides and staff for giving us a safe place to be ourselves. And to our parents for allowing us to come to SHS, influencing us and helping us accomplish all that has led us to this moment.
This is not the end. This is just the start of a new chapter in the great book of amazing memories. We are now graduating and going into high school. We are filled with happiness, sadness and excitement but mainly hope. Hope for success and to continue this journey. We will never forget the values and memories we have all made here. But right now, all that matters…
Is that we, the Class of 2021 can say, WE DID IT!
