Um It's such a cool event because you have so many different students coming in from so many different schools and they're kind of put into an environment where they have to interact with each other. So, I know I saw a lot of students who had We had name tags so you could see what school someone was from and throughout the entire event I saw a lot of students who had different name tags. So, I I actually ended up making friends with some new students. There were two students from Amity who I actually followed me around for most of the day just because in the beginning when we're all in this big room for our um our activities where we have, you know, our obstacle course and all the other like kind of warm-up activities. Everyone's in the same room so you kind of have to talk to each other.
So, I'm going to um the days of training are up there, too. But I'm going to turn it over to Sarah now, who has the much more important piece of talking about how that went. >> Um so, good evening. We wanted to learn more about what helps CHS students feel like they belong at CHS. Um, and while surveys um, like the safe school climate survey that Kevin mentioned earlier give us information and give us general trends, we decided that it would be better to uh, have students to gather that information in smaller focus groups of students. And so we met with a variety of different groups. Um, and we decided to go with these focus groups because it allows students to really one student starts talking, another student can elaborate on what they're saying. Um it allows the facilitator to see if student you know if one student says something other students are nodding in agreement.
At least to to get it moving without having to go referendum would be This is great. It just going to happen. Yeah. I Yeah. It needs to happen. And if Oh, so we're going to move the the long and triple jump in inside the D zone? I think that that's an option. Like I think for as these are all like theoretical, you know, like this is not a commitment. And what I will name is I'm I'm not I have to look a little more into this, but because we're getting a reimbursement for this project, I don't know if it requires some type of like committee with public input. I heard something about that with like these field projects. Yes. This is not necessarily public building. I don't know who would recommend it if it'd be the council or us. But if we do have to set up an advisory committee, we should make that happen.
Brendan Kilpatrick, CTE, PE health. Warren Kilpatrick, CTE, English. Young Chan Kim, presidential certificate. Dylan Kozlowski, business, CTE, PE health. Stephanie Larson, Latin, presidential certificate. Patrick Latori, CTE, English, presidential certificate. Owen Latanzio, English, social studies, presidential certificate. Tyler Lawless, business, English, math, PE health, science, social studies, Italian, presidential certificate. Patrick Nolan Luwanka, English, PE health, science, social studies, Spanish, presidential certificate. Zachary Lionheart. Jason Liu, English, social studies, Spanish, presidential certificate. Michael Lojacono, CTE, PE health. Gabriella Lon, English, presidential certificate. Kenny Lion, CTE. Madeleine Martin, art. Jordan McHugh, CTE. Colin McMillan, business. Camille Cortez de Mendonca de Mendonca, art. Jaden Mendoza, CTE, music. Ellie Michaels, business Latin. Adam Miller, business. Ryan Miller, PE health. Sarah Mullen, CTE PE health. Ava Morris, CTE English social studies presidential certificate. Nina Moutinho, English math science social studies German presidential certificate. Marissa Mudry, art. Richard Newlin, business. Maryam Nawaz, CTE music social studies.
And still we made it here. But at the end of the day, we're not pilots and we're not navigators. We are poets. We are the authors of our stories. I believe we as human beings can only create opportunities at our best. So I would like to take this chance to remind you that we as human beings are not defined by the color of our skin, our gender, our birthplace, the people we choose to love, or the versions of ourselves we tried to become just to be accepted. We are defined by what we choose in spite of all of that, by the love we give when it is not returned, by the kindness we offer when nobody's watching, by the courage it takes to fully be ourselves in a world that constantly asks us not to be. Because growing up is not about becoming someone new, but finally stopping the war with who we already are.
This moment is more than a graduation. It is a celebration of everything we have overcome, learned, and achieved together. First, I want to thank our teachers, counselors, and staff for the time, patience, support, and dedication you have given us, even in times we didn't believe in ourselves. You believe in our potential, pushed us to do our best, and helped us guide through every challenge. To my classmates, today belongs to all of us. We each come here We each came here with different stories, struggles, and dreams. Yet, somehow we became one class connected through shared experience, late nights, laughter, and moments that we will carry on forever. You need to know where you come from to know where you are going. These words remind us that our roots are the foundation of our future. Where we come from is nothing something to leave behind. It is something to carry with pride.
I remember the day that he told me that his first choice for college was form after visiting New York. I knew that that was breaking his mom's heart because he'd be so far away. And what most people don't know is Eie has a twin. And so not only do they lose one in one year, they lose two. So that's for you. Yeah. Um just know that Effie is off to do exactly what he wanted to do. I held for several weeks the fact that he had gotten into form after being weightlisted for a period of time, right? And I did not tell the board because I wanted him to stand at this podium and tell them where he was going. And that was his news to share. He has done everything on the campus ASB clubs, worked at one of our schools as an ELOP support um provider and just amazing things.
I have the honor of presenting the very first Pam Coleman Golf Scholarship to Taylor Fibius. I'm here on behalf of the discovery shop uh which was established in 1959 by a group of uh Chico women who recognized a need for uh a fund for our local charities and our nonprofits. We are a small thrift show thrift shop located on the corner of Third East Third Street and Flume Avenue and uh we're across from the farmers market. We have about 100 volunteers that work in the shop. No one is and we rely entirely on donations from our community members and we're very lucky. Uh last year we were able to donate over $160,000 to our community and each year we contribute to the Chico Community Scholarship Foundation. It's my pleasure to present uh this year an award to Dala Smith and it's $2,000 for her future education.
Um, we started discussions, but we want this to translate ultimately into solutions. So, um, It was one thing that uh, Assemblywoman Bogolie that resonated with me was her um, when she was on the Livingston Council, she was a council person before she went into let the ledge um, branch. Uh, she talked about meeting with the the Board of Ed meeting with the council, just like we do with the uh, municipal alliance, but they call it two on two. They have a different name for it. So, two members and two members of their council, two members of their Board of Education would come and meet with them. Then they would do a five, cuz they only have five members, five on five, they would do a a committee of the whole with their council. And the last time I remember we did that was back in the day when I was first put on the board and a budget failed and the council showed up at one of our meetings to cut the budget.
Congratulations again to all of our Elks winners. >> [applause] >> Uh Historical Society next year, so Fantastic. Now we're moving on to um And and students, I hope by the way, as you're seeing like these different awards, it's giving you also ideas about other other areas that you might try out and be interested in cuz there's so much out there, right? So now we're moving on to this is the multimedia part of the presentation. So we've got our winners. This is our first time ever contest, the Declaration of Independence Art Contest through the Evesham Historical Society. Um and I've got DST teacher Angela Masson who facilitated so wonderfully this first time contest, right? There's no It's a new recipe, right? It's always like um and then if if we have anyone from the Elks, Connie Evans, come on up. It's great to see you, Connie.
We are also proud to recognize our second co- validictorian Keller Mendes. Good evening graduates, family, friends, faculty, and alumni. My name is Kari Mendes Rodriguez, and I'm extremely honored and grateful to stand here today as one of the valadictorians for the class of 2020. I would not be on the stage without the support of my loved ones. When people look at a at a graduating class, they see accomplishments. They see GPA, awards, scholarships, athletes, clubs, and titles. But what people don't always see are the moments behind those accomplishments. They don't see the late nights staring at a computer screen trying to finish assignments when all you wanted to do was sleep. They don't see the stress over deadlines, the tears after hard days, the pressure we put on ourselves, or the moments we quietly wondered if we were good enough. Today I wanted to split my speech into two parts.
We were all placed initially at ASDB because it provided the necessary resources and services we need to learn and be successful because our public school settings were not able to accommodate and meet our educational needs. Personally, I feel like the situation is very unfair to the many visually impaired children that need this school, and that our concern should be recognized and addressed at a higher level. I feel extremely fortunate to have attended ASDB because in public school the teachers move on quickly with the curriculum with very little support or resources to accommodate my needs as a person with a visual impairment. At ASDB, I learned what resources I can use around me and how to navigate with the vision loss. I feel like if I never went to ASDB, I probably wouldn't have the knowledge and communication skills to advocate for myself. During my junior year, I participated in the Pima JTED program at the Bridges campus and I completed the 3D animation class.
Our parents raised us staying up late worrying about us. Grandparents taught us resilience. Teachers and coaches pushed us. Friends stood by us. They all showed us how to be compassionate, empathetic, and nurturing. Our parents have taught us stay to say I love you to one another or te amo or like my dad says, "Mid wiche." Which means I love you in Czech Republic. That is what shaped us. When I think about the people who stood stood by me through my anxiety, my darkest days, and my greatest accomplishments, I think of my parents, my siblings, my grandparents, my cousin Rosie, and my best friend Cassandra. The list goes on because I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by love every day and I couldn't be more grateful. All of our different walks of life is what developed us into the independent, strong, resilient young adults we are today.
Good afternoon everyone. I'm honored to stand before you. When I thought about the message I wanted to share, I kept returning to the story of Ernest Shackleton and his crew aboard the ship Endurance. In the book, The Endurance, we read about a ship trapped and eventually crushed by Antarctic ice. Shackleton and his crew escaped to the ice where they faced freezing temperatures, starvation, isolation, uncertainty, and setbacks that seemed impossible. Their original mission failed miserably and yet their story became legendary. Why? Because success is not always defined by reaching the destination you planned. Some sometimes it is defined by how you react to adversity, how you lead, how you endure, and how you care for people beside you when everything becomes difficult. We often feel pressure to have our futures perfectly mapped out. Some of us are heading to college. Some are entering the workforce, the military, or trade schools.
Uh as drumline captain my senior year of high school earning best of show drumline at a regional competition remains a highlight and a reminder that hard work and discipline are keys to excellence and success. I want students in the Columbia school district including my three sons to have similar opportunities. We are currently blessed with four exceptional music educators for which I am extraordinarily grateful. My sons have spoken highly of all of them and I personally have had the chance to get to know them after the over the past several years. The district has also invested in a beautiful new auditorium at Columbia High School. However, I'm concerned that we lack the staffing to to fully support and utilize it. With the upcoming retirement of Miss Hughes and current teachers already stretched across multiple schools the program seems at risk of becoming overextended potentially diminishing the quality of instruction.
Same with orchestra. Um, you know, I will say in my day, we learned the notes, we started and ended at the same time. We were happy. >> It's very different now. >> They know a thing or two about music theory and sight reading. >> Scott, do you want this? >> Sure. Oh, we got it. >> This is We used to put our hands down after lunch. >> Okay. Our next uh rec recognition is the U high school orchestra string cretet. >> Mr. Dben, you want to do the introductions and speak about your accomplishments? >> Hello, my name is Mr. Chris Draven. Uh, and this is my first year as the orchestra director at Center Grove High School. Um, and I truly feel like I have the best job in the state right now. Uh these two groups represent two of the five quartets that we had uh that competed at the district level and then qualified for state and all seven of these earned a gold at state as well.
The district-wide ELA pass rate, um, went from 32 to 36, math from 35 to 39, um, science from 32 to 42. We attribute a lot of that to the STEM programming that we also uh, greatly added during, uh, the strategic plan. And then our biology scores at the high school went from 14 to 54. Our SATs, um, we also showed growth in SAT benchmarks across the board. That said, we also still realize we have a lot of work to do on SAT benchmark and it's part of our next strategic plan as well. This is, um, the next data point that, um, is just really special to all of us and this is a work of so many people and our parents and our kids to get the graduation rate, which was in '21-'22 before we started the plan at 79. I might need leaders at this point, I think.
Uh really early with Nico. I'm not sure if they are going to take care on the base paths today. It is a one-ball, no-strike count to Butermann. That one's upstairs and Usartus will jog down to third, and on two pitches she's already at third, and she's going to come home here as the pitcher the throw from the catcher was over the head of Welch. And there you go, Nico Usartus manufactures another run. Yeah, Nico is smart on the base paths, takes advantage of an unfortunate throw by the catcher back to the pitcher. Uh caught Grafton sleeping a little bit and you just you just cannot do that with Nico Yustaress on the bases. As Butera man rips it into right field for a base hit. So, unfortunately, no RBI there as Yustaress came home, but it is a base hit for Butera man back-to-back base runners for the Clockers.
So, I was waiting in line for the obstacle course. Um and the two students from Amity were next to me and, you know, there's no There's nothing to do but talk. So, I had a teammate that played baseball at Amity and then next thing you know, they knew that teammate and then next thing you know, they were Every time they saw me throughout the day it was like, "Oh, what's up, Connor?" And I think I'm not the only student that got that experience of like meeting someone new. But I also think, you know, having actually having all the excellent leaders that showed up. It wasn't just a day to meet new people, but it was also a day that I think a lot of students really learned a lot about leadership and how to be stronger leaders. Thank you. And again, I'm sorry. I was on the agenda and then things just happened.
So we are able to collect a lot more data um and much more in-depth data in that way. Um and so we thought it was really important to hear from students that we don't normally hear from as well. So, we know when we're looking for information from school, we often speak with groups like uh student senate or the um peer health advocates and we really wanted to hear from students beyond that. Um so, we conducted a many different focus groups. Um the groups that we spoke with or that were included are listed here. So, we spoke with many of the open choice students, um special education students, and then also just a random selection of students. Um and they were balanced by grade level and gender. So, These are the questions that we asked. What is it like to be a student at C CHS?