How many like can you get the specifics how many members are supposed to be? >> Yeah, absolutely. I think the first stage is like does it get approved because I kind of I was listening something cuz I've been listening like Pfast and all of the like components of like infill and I I don't even know if that's definitely required, but I know that there's a similar project happening in the Derby community and it's coming up that like they needed an advisory because of a state reimbursement. So >> the public should have some if it does go our way, they should have some sort of Totally, totally. I agree with that. I'm just thinking of the makeup of it. I don't know if since it's not really a building, I mean normally any building goes council approves the public building. This is not that and I'm just thinking What's land?
Johnny Nelson, business CTE. Wylan Newel, math social studies Spanish presidential certificate. Gabriel Engine, PE health. Riley Ann O'Brien, CTE English music. Liam O'Day, PE health. Lydia O'Grady, German presidential certificate. Luca Francis O'Connell Cross, CTE. Julian Peck, English presidential certificate. Catherine Elizabeth Pagliaro, drama English music. Sierra Paul, CTE. Ava Pearson, PE health. Ashley Pang, English social studies Latin presidential certificate. William Pepper, English math, music, science, social studies, Spanish, presidential certificate. Leanna Perez, music. Leah Perenics, music. >> [clears throat] >> Alexander Phillips, math, science, social studies, French, presidential certificate. Daniel Pochu, math, PE health, German, presidential certificate. Michelle Poirier, CTE, music. Razine >> [snorts] >> Qureshi, business, social studies, presidential certificate. Bennett Bradshaw, CTE, English, math, social studies, presidential certificate. Connor James Rayball, business, English, PE health, German, presidential certificate. Liam Reeve, music, social studies, German, presidential certificate. Imani Reed, PE health. Sarah Reed, English, math, PE health, science, social studies, Latin, presidential certificate.
Yeah. >> [laughter] >> I can't leave this stage without thanking my family who has been by my side since the day my heart began beating. But sometimes >> [laughter] >> Thank you. Thank you. Sometimes if you're later lucky in life, like myself you will meet people who blood is not a deciding factor to consider them family. In my case I met Jackie Asudalli Madeline >> [snorts] >> Ashley Leilani Prisida Carla Omar and my Henry. >> [snorts] >> Thank you for helping me stand even when I couldn't do it on my own. For accepting me as the person I am and for your [snorts] unconditional love that I hope will last me a lifetime. So class of 2026 in times when you forget who you are look [snorts] around because somewhere on this field or on those bleachers you have a family who is willing to do anything for you.
Many of our families gave up so much so we could have the opportunities they never had. And because of them, we stand here today. Before I close off, I want to thank the two most important people in my life who made everything possible, my parents. Class of 2026, go after what inspires you. Put in the work and trust yourself every step of the way. Congratulations, class of 2026. Today proves how far we've come, but it also reminds us of how far we can still go. Thank you. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Thank you so much, Betsy. I would now like to introduce our next senior speaker, Jessica Yu. >> [screaming] >> AND WE LOVE YOU, JESS. WE LOVE YOU, JESS. GOOD EVENING, esteemed staff, friends and families, and of course, our Western class of 2026 soon-to-be graduates. How lucky we are to be standing here today, surrounded by such a beautiful scenery, celebrating a moment that we once thought was so far away.
There's not enough time in a day to talk about these students and represent what they do, but we appreciate UF and all that you have succeeded in and what you have in the future to succeed in. Thanks. One, two, three. Miss Jilly, >> come on up. So many of you have heard the story about Jillian and my experience together over the years. I didn't say Jillian. I said Jill. Did I say Jillian? I never call her Jillian. I call her Jill. Jill. So I met Jill when she was a first grader and she helped me with a project and we were super successful at that project and I'll leave it at that. But at that age, I knew that Jill was going to uh knock people's socks off, that she was beyond her years of maturity. And so over the years, I've gotten to watch her grow up.
Those lights are bright. I'm here on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Chico Auxiliary 218. Pleased to do this scholarship presentation this evening. Our auxiliary is in its 86th year of giving to our community. We do year-round fundraising and all of those funds stay here in the community. Of course, one of those um activities help fund the scholarships to our local high school senior graduates. Our motto is people helping people. Our other funds go to local charities such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, kidney, autism, cancer, city of hope, and children's. Anytime you see the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary doing a fundraiser, please join in because all of those funds that we raise stay here in our local community that we give out here. Um, so it's just a really great thing to do that we can um give back to our community. With that, I would ask Amber Riby to come forward.
So, I don't know if you guys would want to talk about it or maybe, you know, bring it up and and and move it around with you. If you want to wait until after the election, maybe with the new council come January, meet with them. This way we can introduce everyone to each other and just form a relationship with them. I'd like to do that because I think it's just more conversation for us, but I think we should wait until January. That's only my my opinion, but um, we're open to everybody getting a piece of this and discussing it. But, it was very interesting that she brought that up. But, they call it five on five, not municipal lines, and two on two, which was I thought it was cute a cute little name for that. But, they they meet quarterly um with the five on uh with the two on two, and they meet twice a year with the the five on five.
So fun. So I'm going to let uh Ms. Masson talk a little bit about it. Sure. Hi everybody. This is Connie Evans. She's the president of the Evesham Historical Society. Um she and Kathy Devlin and I have been kind of working through this project together to bring it to the community. Um so really the idea was born out of having the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, the American Revolution coming this July. And the the historical society across the state has really been working to create opportunities to recognize this historical event. Um and this is part of that. There's going to be some other things like a reading in town you'll see aired in July. We're going to have an open house on June 20th. We'll be having some panels coming to the school district in April of next year. That was also brought to us in partnership with the historical society.
One dedicated to my family and supporters and one dedicated to my fellow graduates. For this part of my speech, I will talk solely in Spanish. To my family, would you please stand so I can honor you? Fore! Foreign! Foreign! foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. scenario. That's what I mean. Soon. Gracias. for his father. Gracias. Cynthia. Now on to the second part of my speech. I would like to thank every single graduate sitting here today. In one way or another, we've all interacted, became friends, laughed together, or spent time together. I cannot thank you enough for your company throughout these years. On our senior trip, there were so many memories we made together, we grew closer and got to be kids again. Going on scary rides and screaming together made me realize how comfortable we are with one another. Filled with love, hate, and curfew.
I knew exactly what accommodations I needed and told my teachers about my disability and what I need in order to be successful in the class. I believe if I never went to ASDB, I probably wouldn't have the knowledge and communication and advocacy skills to tell others about my visual impairment. Another benefit of attending ASDB has been participating in the sports program. I was involved in cross country, goalball, basketball, and track and field which was a fun experience. During cross country meet, it was cool to see other schools cheering on our team and other teams. If it was neat to witness such a good sportsmanship. Another sport I probably would have never participated in if I was still in public school is goalball. I like to explain goalball as a soccer, human bowling all in one package. Lastly, I would like to thank all the teachers and staff at ASDB, especially the O&M specialist and also the PE department for their hard work and commitment with keeping me on track with my education and supporting my goals.
That is the real human connection that has formed our groundbreaking generation. Not fake artificial intelligence that doesn't even know the difference between a hand or fingers. You know, when I was told I had to write this graduation speech, almost everyone gave me the same advice. Just use chat GPT. And honestly, I could have. But after the last 12 years of hard work, failure, growth, heartbreak, memories, and perseverance, every person sitting here deserves something real, something human. A speech written not by AI, but by someone who lived these experiences alongside you. As we step into this next chapter of our lives, we must remember that AI and technology may be powerful and can imitate knowledge, but they can never replace the authenti- authenticity of human emotion, human struggle, and human art. So, as we leave here today, I'll leave you with this final thought. Don't just chase success in the digital world and lose sight of what got us to this place today.
Some have no idea what comes next. We're told to chase achievement, rankings, acceptance letters, and career goals as if life is a straight line from point A to point B. But Shackleton's story reminds us that life is rarely a straight line. The crew of the Endurance survived not because conditions were easy, but because they adapted. They stayed hopeful. They relied on one another. Those lessons matter now more than ever. Our generation has already faced challenges we never expected. We grew up during the uncertainty of COVID and through rapid technological technological changes among other challenges. We learned how quickly plans can shift, but we also learned resilience. We learned how to support each other through difficult moments. There will be moments in our lives when we feel stuck in the ice. Moments when plans collapse, when we fail, and when we feel lost, disappointed, or uncertain.
There are also safety concerns. One teacher overseeing 110 marching band students is not sustainable and limits both the effectiveness and the students student's support. Performing arts build creativity, discipline, and teamwork skills that benefit students far beyond the classroom. Investing in an additional full-time teacher a full-time music teacher would strengthen the program, improve safety, and ensure our facilities are used to their full potential. I am urging the Columbia school school district administration and Board of Education to create and approve a new full-time music teacher teaching position in addition to replacing Miss Hughes in time for the 2026-2027 school year. Ideally soon enough to support the summer's band camp. Please consider signing this petition to support future music education in Columbia, Illinois. That all being said, uh that was written sometime ago now. I've learned a few things since I wrote that. That's really good conversations and I wanted to talk about a couple of couple of those things um before sharing it with you.
Um this is Matthew Anko, Kayie Hersonson, Landon Spivey, uh Netri Christian, Ellen Noah, Cleo, uh Victor Zimmer, um and Jeff Sweeney. Uh and you both hear them play a Devorjac piece, uh and a Telmont piece. So we're really thankful and proud to have them be able to perform for you. Uh and then a big thing this year, it's been about 20 years Center Grove has had a full symphony orchestra combining the band and the strings. Um, and because of their hard work and doing a lot extra than it's been done in the past, uh, we put together a full symphony for the first time. Uh, performed at Christmas, took it to contest, uh, earned a gold rating there as well. So, we're very excited about what's going to happen in our future as well. >> We were very excited to hear about the gold this year.
79, um, percent and it was in the lowest 10 counties of the of the state, um, which is now then, since that plan, up to 95.9%. That is a significant amount of growth for a graduation rate in that short amount of time. That is a very significant data point. Um, so thankful for all of the hard work of our high school staff, um, and adult ed staff too That'd be a part of that puzzle to helping us figure out how to help the graduation rate. Absenteeism rates, when we began the the Oh, sorry. Absenteeism for chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 18 or more days a year for any reason, excused or unexcused. We were in the 10 highest um, graduation I'm saying this backwards. We were one of the top absenteeism corporations in the state. We had a lot of absenteeism. So, you can see we were at 23% of our kids were missing that amount of school every year when we started the plan.
Nice piece of opposite field hitting there by Haley, uh taking that thing the other way and now she sets herself up probably for a stolen base in her own of her own with my my friend the RBI machine Ava Vendetti up to plate. 420 batting average, 32 runs driven in. Butera man will take off. The pitch is a strike and she is in there. With about a half of a slide she It wasn't a close throw again, so that is her third stolen base. She's three for three on the season. I'm surprised to see that Haley only has three stolen bases this year. Um but she's certainly a fast runner as Ava Vendetti >> to short stop. A nice play there by Isherwood and the throw's in time. Butera man will take off for third and she is in there. Another good base running decision from the Clockers.
>> But if I could add to Connor's point though, at lunch all the kids are mixed together with students from other districts um and leaders sit at those tables and facilitate conversations. So, you know, I know at my table we were talking about going to prom, and one young man was asking about, you know, fashion advice on the prom. Uh and >> Asking you for fashion? Uh believe it or not, and others. [laughter] It's It's kind of So, that one hurt. But, um anyway, I No, no, no. There was [laughter] dialogue and about everything, you know, we the kids just had a lot of fun talking with each other, getting to know one another at the table, and it really representative of the student presentation from earlier. Um it was a great community building event, but learning, too. Uh a lot of learning building built into the leadership day.
What helps them feel connected? What keeps them from not feeling included? Um are there parts of the school that feel especially welcoming? And what would it look like to have a perfect environment for being included? Um and the results across the board were students feel connected through sports, clubs, activities. They feel connected I think this is actually on the next slide. Um they feel connected through uh welcoming teachers, right? And so all of these things are building relationships. So they're building relationships with people within the building. They also talked a lot about um especially for that last piece of what would it feel like if you walked into CHS and felt like you belonged. They talked about people saying hello to them, smiling at them in the hallway. Um and really having that opportunity to find a group of people where they can just be themselves.
That's what I was thinking is like somebody from Parks and Rec. And then not necessarily from the environment commission cuz the environment commission has not been It may work great now, but for years it was not functioning well. But somebody with some sort of environmental background. >> But that's the thing I'm like what what are the components of membership, right? >> Exactly. Yeah, I'm just throwing out some ideas. But if it is not PBC, which frankly I don't know why it would be PBC. Because it's not construction like that. I think that yeah, we probably ought to if we end up establishing a committee, which makes total sense. Yeah, I think we should have some ideas about like what from my perspective like if you just come up with some ideas but I'm thinking parks and environment would both be Yeah. backgrounds. Parks would be easy with parks and rec somebody from there if they wanted to do it and then somebody with some sort of environmental background which I would think that we could probably do.