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KP's Honor of Addressing the Assembly Speech
Article posted June 18, 2007 at 06:23 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 53393
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Here is KP's Honor of Addressing the Assembly Speech
NOTE - for privacy reasons I put a ________ in place of all the identifiable words.
Thank you Mr. ________, Mr. ________, and the entire ________ community for generously presenting me with the honor of delivering this speech. When I was a seventh grader at ________, I had a sister who was in ninth grade, who I always looked up to. Watching this assembly from my homeroom three years ago, I could scarcely have imagined that I might be charged with the daunting task of presenting a meaningful message that you will always remember.
When I was brainstorming what to convey in this speech, I had to think. I told myself:
Think left and think right
And think low and think high
Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
When I did this I only thought of one man, Dr. Seuss. With humorous verses and pictures, he addresses the Great Balancing Act – life itself, and the ups and downs it presents – while encouraging us to find the success that lies within us. Dr. Seuss uses his humor to teach valuable lessons because it has an amazing power. It emancipates us from the oppressive, uncontrollable events in life. It emboldens us, enabling us to accept our condition and move on. The pessimistic man has no sense of humor, but the man in possession of it has a rational, realistic view of the world. He can laugh equally hard when he falls as when he triumphs. Laughter makes us human.
Dr. Seuss’s stories are known for placing wacky characters into unusual and challenging, even ridiculous, situations, but most of all they are about having fun, sustaining humor, and celebrating strength of character. When we read Dr. Seuss as children, we rooted for those characters to succeed, just as our teachers and parents have done throughout our middle school years. For my three years at ________, I have walked the halls with an enormous sense of pride, learned lessons from teachers I will never forget, and grown into a strong and unique individual. I have retained memories from seventh grade when I nervously awaited my Renaissance speech, to Ninth Grade Assessment, where I frantically prepared to present in front of three judges, to now, where I am standing before my entire school community. Yes, all 1100 of you. Today I say goodbye to ________. It is the day I turn the page and finish one chapter of my life. In the spirit of Dr. Seuss and Seussical the Musical this year, I’ve learned:
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest
As I know it does to me, the sight of East may evoke a sense of trepidation. We will have to juggle our schoolwork with our college searches, social lives, and jobs. Many of us may experience some measure of difficulty in high school, but our three years in middle school have prepared us for the years that are to come and we have learned valuable life lessons. As you are the star of your own book remember:
You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose
We know how to make friends and enlist allies. We also know when we have to go it alone. We have solved many of our problems with the help of our parents, teachers, and friends. We are ready to open the doors and take the next step. You are the author as well as the main character:
So be sure when you step
Step with care and great tact
And remember that life’s
A great balancing act
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft
And never mix up your right foot with your left
As we head out the doors we are writing the closing pages to this chapter and heading into the Great Unknown. 7th and 8th graders, you still have a few more pages to fill before you are on your way to your own best seller, but it’s still intimidating all the same. Even though the 2006-2007 school year is over, the times we’ve shared and the friends we’ve made will live on in the pages of our memory. The clock is ticking, time is fleeting, and nobody lives forever. But true friendship is something we can count on. I asked a close friend once, “What are you going to miss most about ________?”
She said, “The start of the rest of my life.” I didn’t understand what she meant, so when I asked she said, “Like, it was when everything good happened to me. And even when bad struck… I still had my friends. So I’ll remember my friends the most.” We can all count on the memories and laugh at all the stupid things we did wherever we are. When we talk about our friends, it reminds us of the best times of our life.
The last three years have been a challenge for the students at ________. With incidents such as the war in Iraq, Virginia Tech shooting, and the Amish school house shooting in Lancaster County, or even something more personal like losing a close relative and coping with divorce, it often seems as though society thinks that today’s youth are no longer capable of positively participating in and shaping the world. Media has branded us as incapable of achieving. We should be lazy and incompetent. As all main characters do, we will experience conflict in our own stories.
I’m sorry to say so,
But, sadly, it’s true,
That Bang-Ups
And Hang-Ups
Can happen to you
But do not end your story short. Before me, you sit here as proof for the hope of our future. We are the businessmen, doctors, politicians, teachers, and parents of tomorrow. It is our personal dedication to success throughout our middle school years that has qualified us to lead in the future. Today we rise above the stereotypes and shed the labels. It is you, and only you, who determine who you will be and what you will do. You are the author of your own story. You define yourself. Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and blaze a trail.
Today’s award ceremony is the culmination of our commitment, starting with the efforts from the first day we entered ________as innocent seventh graders, apprehensive about starting middle school, to now as we await the exhilaration in commencing a new part of our lives at East. Turn the page,
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down any not so good street.
While at times it may have been easy to have been drawn down the path of negativity, we have chosen to persevere and flourish.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed).
Where we go from here and what new frontiers we are meant to discover may remain yet unseen, but as we step out those doors today and are blinded by the first lights of what is to come and what is to be, always remember today’s triumph. For no matter what tomorrow brings, be it the straightest path or a road wrought with twists and turns, today we share this achievement.
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting
So… get on your way!
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Article posted June 18, 2007 at 06:23 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 53393
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Special Announcement from Mrs. D
Article posted June 13, 2007 at 03:05 PM GMT •
comment (15) • Reads 747
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I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you for a wonderful year. You are truly one of the very best of the many groups of students I have have the pleasure of working with over the past nine years. I know that many of you have heard this before from other teachers . . . you are a really special grade. Your good humor, integrity, creativity, and engaging character have made a lasting impression on me - one that I will cherish since you are the last ninth grade history students I will teach.
I will no longer be teaching social studies. Starting next year, I will be teaching other teachers as a staff developer for our school district. I will be at our school next year to teach a computer class, but starting with the 2008-2009 school year I will be out of the classroom entirely.
This is a bittersweet transition for me. I love teaching. This year, in large part because of all of you, I woke up every morning looking forward to going to school. You made all my school days enjoyable.
Thank you so much for filling my last full year of teaching with wonderful memories. I will miss all of you and I wish you all the success and joy that will fill your future.
__________
On a side note, I am in DESPERATE need of help from students on Monday from 12:30-4:00 and Tuesday from 9:00-3:00. I have to totally clean out everything from my classroom. As you know, that is a major undertaking. If you are able to help me on either of those two days, I would be indebted to you. I can really only offer you a pizza lunch and my gratitude . . .
Please comment to this posting or e-mail me if you can help during any of the times I indicated above.
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Article posted June 13, 2007 at 03:05 PM GMT •
comment (15) • Reads 747
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Daily Scribe 6/12/2007
Article posted June 12, 2007 at 10:19 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 819
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Mrs. D collected textbooks today. We listened to the first half of the class present their living history presentations.
Our homework is to bring in our textbook (if we haven't alreay turned it in).
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Article posted June 12, 2007 at 10:19 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 819
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Daily Scribe 6/11/2007
Article posted June 12, 2007 at 01:33 AM GMT •
comment • Reads 788
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We took the final exam (multiple choice section) this morning after homeroom. Mrs. D said that we will get the scores back tomorrow.
Today, we watched a documentary about the aftermath of WWII. It covered topics like:
-The G.I. Bill
-The rise of the middle class, suburbia, and the baby boom
-Social changes for women (return traditional famimly roles of wife and mother) and Black Americans (desegregation of the military and civil service)
-The partioning of Germany between the democratic Allies and the U.S.S.R. (Berlin Air Lift)
-Churchill's Iron Curtain speech and the real iron curtain
-The spread of communism to China and North Korea
-The Korean War
Our homework is to finalize our Living History Presentation. The presentations start tomorrow.
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Article posted June 12, 2007 at 01:33 AM GMT •
comment • Reads 788
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Daily Scribe 6/7/2007
Article posted June 7, 2007 at 05:43 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 287
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Mrs. D reviewed the requirements for the Living History Presentations. We signed up for our presentation time slots. The directions are also posted on the WWII page of the wiki.
We reviewed for the final exam today. We went over items from district review sheet. Mrs. D posted a document on the main page of the wiki that lists the textbook pages where we can check each of our answers.
We will take the exam on Monday - immediately following homeroom. Here are our testing locations:
Period 1 - 135
Period 2 - 137
Period 3 - 117
Period 7 - 129
Period 8 - Commons A
We need to bring a #2 pencil since the exam is a scantron. We should also bring other work or a book to occupy us once we have completed the exam.
Our homework is to study for the exam.
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Article posted June 7, 2007 at 05:43 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 287
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Daily Scribe 6/6/2007
Article posted June 6, 2007 at 05:00 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 282
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Mrs. D started class by reminding us that there is an after school final exam study session today. There is also another chat room study session at 7:00 tonight. Just go to the main page of the wiki to join in.
Today, we talked about the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Mrs. D gave us a chronology of the development of atomic weapons. We listened to a podcast about the factors that President Truman had to consider in making this decision. We read a short source about the Potsdam Conference and the military preparations for an invasion of the Japanese home islands. After that, we split up into three groups. Each group received a different position in the debate about using an atomic bomb. We discussed it as a group. We will use the information during our tag-team debating on Monday.
Our homework is to finish the final exam review sheet.
**Tomorrow, we are signing up for our presentation time slots for the Living History Presentations. The directions and rubric are on the WWII page of the wiki.**
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Article posted June 6, 2007 at 05:00 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 282
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Daily Scribe 6/5/2007
Article posted June 5, 2007 at 02:57 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 293
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We wrote our final exam essay today in class.
Our homework is to continue working on the final exam review sheet. It is due on Thursday (6/7).
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Article posted June 5, 2007 at 02:57 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 293
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Daily Scribe 6/4/2007
Article posted June 4, 2007 at 04:53 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 279
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Mrs. D started class by reminding us of upcoming dates:
-Tuesday, 6/5 - Final Exam Essay
-Thursday, 6/7 - Final Exam Review Sheet Due
-Monday, 6/11 - Final Exam Multiple Choice Test
-Tuesday & Wednesday, 6/12&13 - Living History Presentations
Mrs. D also told us that we could meet with her before school, during lunch or resource, or after school for exam review. She also set up a chat room through GeeSee for exam review. We can access the chat room from home. It is housed as a widget on the home page of the class wiki. Students can use it any time, though Mrs. D gave us the schedule for when she will be live in the chat room to help with exam review:
-Monday, June 4, 7:00-8:00 PM
-Wednesday, June 6, 7:00-8:00 PM
-Sunday, June 10, 7:00-8:00 PM
In class, we learned about the battle for the Pacific. We looked at a battle map and watched a short video clip that summarized the major engagements in the Pacific. Mrs. D gave us a summary reading with blanks. We used the information from the video and from the textbook to fill out the blanks. We stopped our work with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. We will be investigating that decision and its impact on WMDs later this week.
Our homework is to prepare for the final exam essay.
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Article posted June 4, 2007 at 04:53 PM GMT •
comment • Reads 279
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