For me, this is closing a chapter, a long and rewarding journey. For you, the story is just beginning. Your pages are blank and the future is yours to write. As you begin the new chapter, I want you to leave here with three thoughts. First, be the author of your own story. The world will try to tell you who to be, but the best lives we built are on authenticity. Stay true to yourself and trust your unique perspective. Second, hold tight to your values. In moments of uncertainty, follow your morals and ethics, the non-negotiables. If you're grounded in these principles, you will never tr tr truly lose your way. And finally, remember where you came from. You are a Lancer. Belleville East helped changed who you are today. And no matter what life takes you, this community will always be part of your story. Class of 2026, serving this district has been an honor of a lifetime.
It's not our abilities that show us what we truly are. It's our choices. Throughout these four years, we have proven that we have the ability to succeed. But the diplomas we receive today don't define our potential for the future. our decisions do. Every choice you make from here on out is a reflection of the person you can and will be. So, choose to keep going and never hold back from reaching your goals. Everyone sitting here today is deserving of their achievements. It is and is truly capable of so much more. Go choose your own unique path. But first, let's hear from Mason Blair. Hello. When when reaching your goals, don't lose sight of where you are today. As Andy Bernard from the office once said, "I wish there was a way to know that you're in the good old days before you actually left them." And standing up here today, I realized we're living in the good old days right now.
Like, this is great. This is awesome. >> It definitely feels very important. And it's a chance for some of these kids to kind of step up and make a statement as to what the future of their high school programs are going to kind of consist of as well. Jeremy, like being a freshman, just so middle school's a little bit fresher on your mind, like is this is this an event where you feel like around the middle school hallways and everything at Bluffton, like it's something where the athletes and students are getting excited about for? >> It definitely gets talked about. I remember being hearing about in classes being like, "Oh, you're running this or running that." And I just Yes. It gets talked about. It's hyped up. It's a a thing that middle school teachers show up to, middle school students show up to, all of the athletes, parents show up.
Those are the things we're trying to mitigate and the conversation that we're having today. Another piece that we're looking at in terms I'll speak specifically to my department is making sure that what sorry Tanya that's your flicker I apologize. Uh that when we're talking about systems and having cohesive systems we're actually looking to internally at our platform. So what are our platforms saying? If our platforms aren't talking to each other, by that I mean our evaluation systems, our personnel record systems, our professional learning systems, then it's really hard to keep track as to how are our teachers doing in the classroom and are they receiving the supports that they need? Um are they receiving the professional development that they need so that they can feel successful? Are they going in and consistently filling out their self assessment every year and saying these are areas I'm really good in and these are areas of growth that I would like to get better in.
As I begin my next chapter, I do so with confidence because I know the future is in good hands. Congratulations, Lancers. Make your book a bestseller. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mrs. Ganon. It is now my privilege to recognize one of our valadictorians. Please stand and make your way to the stage. Please welcome Maris Ensley.
Everyone is always looking towards the future, leading us to Mr. Now, so class 2026, cherish the good old days while you're still in them. This journey we are on now contains my cousin Nor who shows us why the ride is just important as the destination. [applause] Even though these good old days are coming to an end like we always knew they would, we can still soak up these last moments. [clears throat] As I stand here today, I'm reminded of a quote from the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Because even if you know how something's going to end, that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the ride. We all knew that this would end. It's high school. We knew it would only last four years. We knew everything would eventually come to a halt. But that didn't make it any less significant. We didn't spend these years wishing it would stop.
It's a big thing for these athletes. >> Yeah. And hopefully now that we're covering this here on YouTube that some of them will come back and take a look at it and just kind of see what they what we see up here and just and it's always fun preserving these kind of memories. I was talking to Elliot uh his eighth grade year. I was on the field just kind of taking some pictures just going around and those have been popping up in my Facebook memories and it's just funny now seeing you guys all have grown as juniors and seniors and such. I guess juniors, sophomores, and freshman. And it's just kind of fun seeing those baby faces. Uh, and still competing at a high level at the high school as well. I'm sure there's some of these other high schoolers in the background from the other schools, too.
and how are we connecting that to their professional development. So as we internally look at our platforms, we're saying okay, how can we connect the dots here and how can administrators see this in a fluid way and it's not perfect. We've been working on it for the last three years and there's definitely bumps and kinks along the way, but the purpose is how are we tying this together, right? If a teacher is is aligning their goals and aligning their self- assessment to the standards and we're doing this work right now with our evaluation committee, how are we then as the administrator saying, "Okay, let's get you the support that we need." How do we connect that to a professional personal learning platform that says, "Here's the PD we can offer. Here's the time, here's the coaching, the mentor, the mentorship that we can offer you." And it's trying to bring that all across along the way so that ultimately the one who who benefits from it the most is is the student are our students.
[applause] Good morning everyone. Before I begin, I would like to thank all of the teachers and faculty. I want to recognize them for their commitment to our education and their passion towards each student who climbs the steps of Belleville East. I also want to extend a thank you to all of the friends and family who have helped each of us in our journey towards graduation. Whether we say it or not, your love never goes unrecognized. As we close this chapter of our high school lives, I wanted to find a way to capture both everything we've accomplished and everywhere we're about to go. As we take this next step, I want to leave you all with a piece of advice from Albert Einstein. Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for the future. Throughout this speech, I hope that you'll look back on some memorable moments, but also get excited for all that's ahead of us.
We spent them filling the time in between. We chose to make the best of every season, every late night, every win. [clears throat] So wherever you go next, don't just look at the end goal. Remember to make the journey worth it. To understand who is with us on this journey, we now turn to Thomas Frank. who supports us on this journey is a message vital to maintaining our relationships. Nothing is more uplifting than having multiple loved ones support every step of our journey. However, these essential people are only the supports to the tower of our lives. Don't think, just do. This quote from Miles Teller and Top Gun Maverick establishes that once opportunity is presented, we must strive for it. Chances leave us vulnerable and nervous about the future. But it is those risks that bring us above the rest. Take that opportunity to improve the world.
So, it's just it's fun stuff to kind of take a look at. >> So, as we do kind of get into some things here tonight, field events will be starting here in about two minutes at 5:30. I think couple of these things that we should kind of be interested in taking a look at is some of these records going on. Um, a lot of these records that we see in the ACAC, I know a lot of the high school kids are like, "Man, some of these records are so old. Like, these schools aren't even in the ACAC anymore." It's like, yeah, like Cherabus, Leo, Norwell have quite a few of these records. I think Garrett has a couple still, but there's a few um on this night that I feel like could be likely to be broken. And on the guys side, as we have pulled up the open events on around the track, um the 200 and 400 marked by Reed Warbacher of Leo and Brett Radcliffe of Norwell.
So this is what I was just I was just referring to here is just how do we bring up our internal talent but how is our internal infrastructure also supporting that right because we can get folks licensed through our system. We're trying to provide as much support as possible, but then how are our internal systems making sure that we're that the life of our employee in our district is one that brings them towards success. And those those are my slides, right? That's that's the foundation for today before we jump into more debt and start talking about how that feeds and trickles into the classroom. >> Okay, so now Dr. Z, take questions. Dr. Yes. >> Can I just ask people to introduce themselves when they're >> behind everybody? >> Hi, I'm Sharon Ruth. I'm from RC Pack. Um I was wondering if you had any information on employees that have quit and sort of what kinds of support they're wanting because I know in special education we've had staff members quit.
The class of 2026 has been known for showing up and showing that even when life gets hard, we don't give up. Four years ago, we ascended the stairs of East and descended into an unknown and frightening adventure, high school, and the Hnode bathroom. Walking the halls, we found our classes. Whether we were on time or late, we attended class meetings in the pack, strolled through central terrace, and forgot to study for tests. We watched that burning building just across the street and felt enraged as we came in second for the spirit stick again. We had small successes and lots and lots of big mistakes. Through these mistakes, however, we learned. We learned how to become better writers, artists, mathematicians, scientists, and historians. We learned how to become greater students and friends. But we ultimately learned how to become better people, contributing to a society that we will soon enter ourselves.
To learn how to start making that change, please welcome Ellie Ger. All of us have opportunities to improve the world around us. In the words of Officer Judy Hops from Zootopia, "Life's a little bit messy. No matter what kind of animal you are, change starts with you." As we prepare to step out into the world, each of us has a different path ahead. No matter where you go or what you do, you have the power and the responsibility to make meaningful change in your community. As you move through life, ask yourself, "How can I leave this better than I found it? How can I make someone's life just a little bit easier? Because I promise there is something you can do and it will be noticed and make a difference. As we leave West, remember that it is our choices, not just our abilities, that define us.
And neither one of those schools being in the ACA anymore, but Davin Dreer of Bluffton, uh, he's run times faster in the 200 this year and just right I think within range of the 400. So it'll be interested to see how Davin can go. But I know just seeing Davin compete this year, he's going to be asked a lot um to kind of step up for the Tigers. >> Other ones, I think the 200 hurdles, Cam Bowman of South Adams, uh, really close to that 2766. And I think one that may very likely get broken, uh, Eli Lichfield of Wood of Heritage, pardon me, has thrown 157 feet, one inch. The record currently is held by uh, somebody roads from Woodland of all the way back in 1983. A record that has been so long held. Like, how cool would that be to see a middle schooler be able to break that tonight?
Um, and as you said, they're hard to rebuild. So, what can we do more? Um, I know you talked a bit about professional development helping with retention, but I just wonder if you could speak about that a little bit. >> Sure. Um, we do conduct exit surveys. I was just in an exit survey for special education position last week. Uh, and you know what they shared, they they they love the district. Thank you, Alison. They love working in the district, right? We have really incredible educators. They feel the support. A lot of times it is for personal reasons. They're moving away. Um other times it can be a a difference in a clash of culture right in terms and by culture I just mean um I don't mean like ethnic I mean the culture here in Ammerst can be different from folks who are coming from other places and so how are we doing with our mentorship program our first year mentors and how are we pairing them up to make sure they're feeling the support and can come in and integrate into into our culture and and can feel comfortable and welcomed here.
At East, we found a home that will always welcome us back. And in the end, we learned what it truly means to be Lancers. Today is important because it is a representation of the hard work we have put in throughout the last four years. And although studying for tests and quizzes maybe didn't happen as much for me especially in the last few months, we earned that right through working hard for all our years here. And as I look out into the crowd today, I see people who I consider my friends. I see people who I have never talked to before. But more than anything, I see a class who is ready to graduate. So my message today is to take this graduation day to enjoy your time with your friends. Talk to that person you've never talked to before and have hope for the future.
Cherish these good old days while enjoying the ride of the journey itself rather than racing toward the end. When opportunities arise, don't think, just do. And always remember that change starts with you. I hope these reflections inspire you to make a lasting positive impact on your community in this next chapter. Congratulations, class of 2026. [applause] graduates, families, faculty, and friends. Look over your shoulder for a moment. Just a quick glance. That's what the rear view mirror is for, isn't it? a necessary tool, but one you only check for a second to know you have been and what's behind you. In the months and years ahead, your time here will recede into the rearview mirror. This chapter, which once consumed your entire life, will become a smaller and smaller part of the road you are traveling. And like a driver, you will have a choice. You can wonder what's behind you, or you can keep your eyes on the wide, expansive road ahead, your future.
Over on the girl side, uh around the track, I really feel like the Tinley Evans of Heritage Middle School or Heritage Junior High has quite a few options. Uh whether it's the 100, 200, or 400. She's a sixth grader running a 101.80 in the 400, I believe. Um I'll pull up here. >> It's wild. >> And yeah, where'd that go? Um, yeah, Timley Evans, a sixth grader, a 1310 in the 100, >> a 2740 in the 200, and a 101 80 and the 400 this year. Like, that's a sixth grader >> running times that could get school records. >> The newest one of those three is 1987, and there's a sixth grader from Heritage that may be able to break those. >> Uh, as well as there's two others. There's a cultter and uh Nevin or no sorry Newan Schwander from Southern Wales who can sorry I shorthand here Coulter from Adam Central and Aubrey Newanwander of Southern Wales both going to be able to make that 400 a race as well.
So, I've heard a variety of of different things. Um, but that's mostly those are mostly the points that that have come forward and some of them are because of lenture, right? It it's um Massachusetts is a very rigorous state to get your educator lensure and especially if it's a specialized role. There are listed competencies and things and it can be um it can be very difficult for for folks to attain lensure here. John Tricky fellow uh you addressed the lion share and that kind of stuff. What about the I can talk to that a little bit? >> So we're currently working with APA on a very robust uh response to attendance and absenteeism um that admittedly will ruffle feathers and it'll be difficult but it's really to try to just establish mostly consistency. Our administrators are really good about going in and asking the question, what's going on?