Dear blog readers and fans, due to a request from one of my dearest fans, I have decided that it is only fair that I show all the readers the Valedictorian speech I gave at my graduation. This final product is the result of numerous corrections and I had to redo the original speech, because it was not formal enough (some of the problems could have been avoided if I simply took my parent’s previous advice, shame on me). Alas, after days of a lot of contemplation and what seemed to be never-ending typing, I completed my speech. I hope you will all enjoy it.
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The Speech itself is here…
Good evening teachers, parents and guardians, relatives, and fellow classmates. As we are all dreadfully aware, our last school year at San Lorenzo Ruiz (SLR) is unfortunately coming to an end. This momentous landmark in our lives is what I see to be ironically the start of three things. First and foremost, tis the season to be tanning as I guarantee all of us here today are going to take full advantage of the most gracious weather we have been granted thus far before the less anticipated Canadian winters we are all so used to roll in. Secondly, especially for us students present tonight as well as all the teachers we all know are going to miss us dearly, this is the beginning of the tears; separation tends to be an occasion on the lesser side of all things jolly. We are all going to miss the togetherness we shared as the SLR class of 2015. The mutual feelings we all shared is not something that can easily be duplicated simply by attending the same secondary school with a couple of your friends. Finally, I believe this should be the beginning of remembering all of the memories we Spartans shared over the years. I would like you all to remember the good times, bad times, and quite confusing ones too. At this moment, I am going to make it my responsibility as your chosen valedictorian to aid in the recollection of some of our finest times together.
We have been through a whole lot together as a grade. The numerous memories are some of the best experiences of my life thus far. The graduation trip to Ottawa was among the most memorable trips. We all have to admit that learning away from home is much more entertaining and fulfilling. Alas, the trouble we got in is a topic I would, if I may, like to avoid. The experience of not only Canada’s history but Ottawa’s environment was something I particularly enjoyed. Then there was the Passion of Christ play which a lot of grade eights, including our newly discovered singing sensations, worked very hard to put together. Oh, let us not forget the talent show we held recently. We received a pleasant surprise when we witnessed all the various talents our classmates possessed. I could go on and on about how magnificent our tight-knit SLR community is but I would probably be talking for quite a while. There was just so much fun, drama, and shenanigans that we all were engulfed in that make us who we are today: successful grade 8 graduates from SLR.
The transition to the intermediate division was one we were somewhat able to get used too after a couple of months. Regular rotary routines, more homework, less use of notebooks and more lined paper, and much more in-depth topics were among the changes we were challenged with. One of my favourite adjustments however was the overall increase in maturity within every single one of us students. Yes, I am serious. From time to time, there would be those incidents in which one of us would commit an unmistakably irresponsible act of pure immaturity causing said person’s integrity to somewhat wither. Alas, I believe I am correct saying that every single one of us is forever indebted to our clearly top-notch teachers. Without their continuous effort, encouragement, and the love they provided, we would be different students than we are today, perhaps lost in forever insolence and silliness.
Mme. Mannil and Mlle. Marcos are some of the finest French teachers you will find anywhere in the schoolboard. Without them, we would not at all be hopefuls for a successful career en Français. I would also like to thank both Ms. Burke and Ms. Lazar who were not able to attend tonight for all the fabulous music they taught us to come to love day in and day out. Look at all the musical talents we have today. I believe that both were able to nurture them just a bit to become the beautiful talents they are today.
Mr. Ng was the calm one among our four intermediate teachers. Yet, we did not take advantage of what seemed to be passiveness to the naïve eye, later realizing that this was his way of showing how much he cared for us. By simply looking first to understand his students’ problems, Mr. Ng became one of the easiest teachers for every single one of us to open up to.
Mrs. Yoshiki always had all those innovative ideas to make our A minus work an A plus. I can speak for all of us when I say that because of her dedication and willingness to teach, we really have thought more outside the box in more than one occasion in and out of her class.
Then in comes the grade eight teachers. We all know there are a whole lot of memories there, predominantly those times when particularly we gentlemen generally found ourselves in some sort of predicament with them. Yes, grade 8 will be remembered as a huge learning curve. Mrs. DeSpirt was frank with us from day one. She never tried to sweeten the truth any more than it already was. If she thought our work lacked detail, she’d tell us so. But no, she wouldn’t stop there. Not Mrs. DeSpirt. She would teach us all different tactics to completing our work to the fullest whether it be arranging ideas using a mind map or her favourite phrase “Problem solve!” Mrs. DeSpirt never stopped trying to help us, like Mrs. Yoshiki, think more outside of the box, this time in terms of learning strategies. And, though some of us were often on your naughty list, we assure you that our implementation of your lessons in the future will for sure make up for all the trouble we caused.
Mr. Yuen never took a break at reminding us to keep the room clean and behave golden, treat others with the utmost respect, and his ever so memorable pursuit to eliminate all things ungrammatical. For my own sake, I checked twice to see if “ungrammatical” was even a word. Nonetheless, under his strict, grade-nine-teaching-style mentality, was the bright side, a place filled with countless unforgettable tales he told us, indirectly teaching us lifelong lessons we will forever cherish. And almost every single time we did something right or wrong, Mr. Yuen would tell us how much he loves us and how he wanted us to be the best we could possibly be.
Not only were our intermediate teachers of great assistance in our physical, mental, and emotional development, but our faith too helped lead the way in who we are today. Through St. Patrick’s Parish, its parishioners, Fr. Dominic, Fr. Noel, and Fr. DeSousa, the priests, and liturgical associates like Sergio and Silvana, our spiritual paths have been strengthened. On behalf of the entire eighth grade, I would like to gratefully thank the church and our Lord for the guidance all year long and helping us in our Catholic education.
Now, I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who made not only this gorgeous night, but also our education experience possible. I would like to extend a warm thank you to all the teachers, staff, administrators, and custodians we have had over the years been giving us the right tools to achieve higher. I would especially like to thank our principal Mrs. Lombardo and our vice Principal Mrs. Alberico for allowing us to take part in many educational privileges that have made us much more enriched. I would also like to thank the parents of my fellow classmates for allowing their children near me. On a serious note, on behalf of all the grade eight students, I would like to thank all parents for always being there for their children throughout elementary school and we all hope for the same support in the near future. Finally, I would personally like to thank the entire eighth grade for being some of the most loyal acquaintances a person like me could wish for. I wish everyone the best in their future endeavors and I hope to keep in contact with as many of you as possible. Live long and prosper SLR class of 2015. Thank you. Spartans Aahoo!
Angelous.