I believe that high school is our Apollo 13. Some of us entered freshman year expecting some amazing things. We might have even thought we were going to land on the moon. But there were some difficulties along the way for all of us. We each got hit by our own personal asteroid belts, knocking us off course. Or maybe our oxygen tanks exploded, seemingly catapulting us far from where we wanted to go. But the great thing about high school is that we were all in it together. We had the most amazing crew of classmates and friends, the best ground control of teachers and staff, and the most supportive families and neighbors at home cheering us on as well. So, even if we fell into a black hole, we could rely on those around us to help lift us and remind us to find joy in the journey.
So. Thank you. We'll scan this and give this to the board. Okay, perfect. Okay. Any other public comments? One more. Like the rest, please state your name for us. I'm Andrea Perkins, language pathologist for the district. Um I just want to speak about an event that took place in April, and in teacher time, that seems like approximately 14 years ago. Um in April, the district had the ACE Olympics, and for those of you that don't know, the ACE Olympics stands for Athletes Challenging Other Athletes, and it requires months of planning because more than 100 athletes from Columbia and surrounding areas come to participate each year. Students compete athletic events that are adapted to meet a wide range of abilities. Every year this event continues to grow, evolve, and embody what I believe is true inclusion. The football field is filled with ages 3 to 22-year-olds.
>> Yes. >> Okay. >> I didn't catch that. I guess >> you know the whole degree from IU mathematics >> that part >> she'll be in first grade before you know it >> herself known tonight >> we got to get her from center >> do we have a cheerleader in the works here >> basketball >> okay uh cassim passed so our next is action item 7.1 approval of the adoption of curricular materials >> um >> who we pass uh Mr. Shannon Carol Fry and um Miss Megan Curtis that will they'll tag team this for both the secondary and the elementary piece. >> Well, thank you for the opportunity to bring a purchasing item to you again. Um as is the annual tradition. Yes, I know. I know Mr. Alexander's got good questions. Hopefully, we've prepared a succinct and uh good explanation for you. question. >> Um what you are going to see is >> first slide the challenge right to provide high quality curricular materials within the funds provided by the state.
So, we're rolling forward. We're excited about it. I get a question on the teacher of the day. Yes. Do you have any idea what the stats are for the other folks that work with kids directly like parapros or anything? You said also went up? We could figure that locally. This The data I get we don't figure ourselves. It comes from a state database I by I for teachers. Um but we could if we're interested in that, we could figure it locally. Okay. Any other questions for Nikki? Great. Again, that item was an info. So, next we'll move down to new business. Um we have some new new NEOLA policies. So, NEOLA rolled out a new volume. Um and so, this is the group of policies to bring in for first reading.
Yeah, and once again, manufacturing runs with great base running. You know, Nikki Eustace is able to take advantage of some bad defensive play by the Gators and then Haley Buterman with a really heads-up base running move to to get to third base on the ground ball to shortstop by Vendetti and then she's able to score on Kyrie's ground out. So, although there was only uh limited hits in that inning, just just Buterman's just Buterman's single, uh they they the Clockers are able to plate two. And they will now go back on defense and have the 4-5-6 part of the lineup for the Gators, Piper Bresnahan, Ava Welch, and Crystal Martinez due up. It was a It was a clean first inning for Eustace. We saw a clean first inning yesterday. So, you know, hopefully she can you know, ride the momentum of a clean inning.
And you had 51 high school candidates that applied for that and you were able to provide solid documentation and effectiveness of that particular program. CAPE has been honoring school districts with the Award of Excellence for Educational Communication since 1975. In 2016, the award was renamed after the long-time CAPE staff member Bonnie B. Carney after her her in recognition of her 47 years of dedication to education focused on communications within the state of Connecticut. With this award, CABE's goal is to identify and honor the hard-working people in school districts for their continued effort to communicate with their constituents on a consistent basis. On behalf of our president, Meg Scudder, and our executive director, Patrice McCarthy, we congratulate you. May I approach? Um please. >> [applause] >> You guys are going to have to come in front for a picture now. We'll make sure you are the chair.
Um, and when you feel frustrated in class, what causes that feeling to happen? Um so we were really trying to get a picture of um a lot of different parts of their classroom experience. Um so we ended up forming these groups. So we had um two teachers with several students. So it was a small group um setting and we went through these questions and it kind of led to a lot of other natural discussions um as well. and some of the feedback that we got. Oh, one other just quick thing. Um the students that we got, they were it was a really representative sample of the student body. So, we had students that were underassman and upper classmen. We had um students that were in grade level courses, AP courses. We had students that had IEPs and 504s and students that didn't. So, we really tried to get a diverse cross-section of the student body so that we could hear from um all voices.
If it's highlighted in green, it means it's a single year project. So, for instance, row row five, the Doolittle Stage Renovations, it's a $250,000 ask out of 250. It's a one year one and done. Um and so, you can kind of see that there are I would say the majority of these projects are multi-year, uh but there are some single single uh year projects. Um and then, on row 12, uh I want to make sure we talk about the I'm going to change this where it says the description. I already have a note about this but >> yep yep no. What I will say is the this document is like an internal document for [clears throat] us where it says South parking lot got switched that loading dock loading dock loading dock complaints. The documents I submit to the town are actually different so this is like internal to the board of Ed.
Let's give it up one more time for all of our firsts. But before we look to close out this chapter of your high school careers, I'd like you to take a moment to pause, take a breath, and look up in these stands to see how many loved ones are here to support our Savannah community. Gracias por todos. As you continue on your own path out of Savannah, use this moment as your reminder that you are not alone. Whether you are representing your family as the first to graduate, or the first in your family to attend college, or the first time you'll be away from your family as you move away for college, the weight you will carry not will be yours alone, but for this whole community to help you carry that weight on your shoulders. In fact, a new version of you will emerge and what was once too heavy will what be just a brick in the foundation of the life you are now building.
As you prepare to take the flight and soar beyond these doors, carry the strength of your history with you. Fly with pride. Your history is the fuel of your growth. Never hide the story they gave you wings. Fly with purpose. Use the lessons of your past as a steady current that guide your migration towards new adventures. Fly with courage. Trust the vibrant colors of your dreams to lead you to horizons no one ever expected you to reach. Class of 2026, you have emerged from the chrysalis and are ready for flight. We know where we've been and now, with your beautiful, hard-earned wings, there is no limit to where you could fly. Congratulations, class of 2026. >> [cheering and applause] >> And now for awarding of the diplomas. I would like to invite invite our Board of trustees and our distinguished distinguished staff who will assist.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I will see you next year. Bye. >> And for the last time remember we're HDPA wherever student finds it. Granite Hills on Granite Hills High School. Jill Rodriguez.
Even when things didn't come easy, Cat always worked hard and did her best, asking for help when needed. I love that she found her niche with a program here and I'm so excited to see where life takes her. Hi, I'm Anita Shalesh from PE Star Scholarship. I'm here to award to Hen K for leadership, extracurricular activities, community service, and a potential for future success. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Janice Napier from PEO Chapter Y here in Chico. The PEO Sisterhood is one of the largest community-based women's organizations in North America with almost 200,000 active members. Our organization provides loans, grants, and scholarships for women through its six philanthropies. The PEO Sisterhood is committed to helping women achieve their educational goals. The PEO Star Scholarship recognizes the accomplishments of graduating high school women planning to pursue postsecary education. In presenting this $2,500 scholarship, the members of chapter Yee and Chico are pleased to recognize our honore who demonstrates excellence in leadership, extracurricular activities, community service, academics, and potential for success.
We've actually helped over 6,000 families during that time. That's equivalent to like 15 or maybe 16,000 backpacks and school supplies. So, as our flagship initiative, it's our goal to provide low-income children with the free essential school supplies they need to walk into the classroom with confidence. We act as the bridge between teachers and students by ensuring no child falls behind due to lack of resources, and we've been committed to doing that for 15 years. So, thank you for your partnership. We could not do it without you. I just wanted to really bring that to the community's attention cuz it's not like we just came on the scene and been doing it. We've been working really hard with our social workers, with the um the school counselors, and even the Board of Ed, this building here. So, we get phone calls, and we do respond within like turnaround time, whether it's our Hunger Doesn't Stop Initiative, which is a a snack pack program where we started that at a school 12, which this year will be continuing to do that uh because of the support that we've been getting.
Okay. All right. Cool. So, let's have all of our amazing winners kind of like It's a math problem. We got to figure out how to get everybody in one picture. But, let's let's bring it in. >> [applause] >> Maybe two levels. Maybe two. Maybe uh yeah, maybe maybe two levels. Two levels. >> All right, one more round of applause for our math league winners. >> [cheering] [applause] [screaming] >> Fantastic. Fantastic. And last but not least, we have right from math, sticking with the M's to music, we have orchestra. All right, so Okay, awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Okay. All right, so we have Victoria Lee 25 26 All South Jersey Orchestra. Oh, that'd be that'd be nice. Yeah, yeah. And then And then uh Oh, here she comes. Here she comes. Congratulations. Next up In In Mosey uh Kalai Kalich His name is Hian. I'm so sorry.
It's not a stretch to say that we are stepping into adulthood and maybe even 10 years from now, I'll see some of my classmates posting their engagements and their own kids. If you're a student right now, please appreciate every minute of your time in school. I'm a first generation graduate and I'll be the first in my family to attend college and finish it. So, I'm incredibly pleased to have earned the title of salad to demonstrate not just my hard work, but the people around me, too. I want to thank teachers here at all his schools like Mr. Mr. B, Mr. Chichi, Miss Cavayto, Mr. Wolf Graham, Miss Sabah, Miss Fernandez, Mr. Paulo, Miss Gorio, Miss Maningo, Delaware, Francis, Miss Romeo, Miss Pini, and everyone else who has taught me. I appreciate all my teachers dearly. Mr. B helped me with part of my college application process, and I probably wouldn't have gotten scholarship without him, let alone gotten accepted into eight different colleges, if we're being honest.
It is Untraveled Road by Thousand Foot Crutch. I hope you all enjoy. ASB Valedictorian Anfernee Burt comes out to join his partner, Jamal. They are both standing beside the microphone on the far right side of the stage. Behind them, ASB student Monroe Stockton sits behind the drums. An ASDB teacher, Ms. Nichols, on bass. >> [cheering] >> Also going to be joining them is ASDB music teacher Kate Skelly on piano. Check, check. Uh, burgers and fries. Is this thing on? Check, check. Does the mic even work? Yep. That's what I want to know. Check, check. Can you hear me in the monitor yet? Okay, good. Can I get some burgers? No, I'm just kidding. Would you like fries with that? Nah. This ain't a Wendy's. This is a graduation ceremony. Hey. Got to love technical difficulties. >> [music] >> Hold [music] on for a second. If words could be weapons, then what I say could affect it.
So, along your way, keep paving the path for those who come behind you. Congratulations to the class of 2026. I can't wait to see all that you do. It's truly been a privilege to be a part of this with you all. Thank you. It is now my privilege to introduce our valedictorian, Amin Barakat Abduljawad. Hello Ameen, here is your 3-minute valedictorian speech with no m dashes. Um No, I didn't mean to say that. Sorry Amsley, only a little AI was used. No, um but seriously, tonight is a celebration of hard work, growth, and opportunity, and I'd like to commemorate it by looking at our past and future from a more personal lens. We, as Americans, often like to think of ourselves as extremely unique. And I can tell you, as a Palestinian-American, in many ways that is true. America is truly a unique and exceptional country.
I know that high school is just the beginning. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and we can each do some amazing things with the time we're blessed with. The past four years have been really fun, but I am so excited to see where we each go next. Some of us might go off to far away galaxies in the name of scientific progress. Others might stay here on Earth tackling the most pressing challenges of our day. But no matter where we go or what we do, we can always remember high school as our training grounds, our test flight, our Apollo 13. And because of these four years, we will be able to go farther than any person has gone before. We can change the world and even change the universe along with it. Congratulations, class of 2026. We did it. Happy graduation day. Now, please join me in welcoming Miss Kaufman back to the states.
They're dancing, laughing, throwing, catching. It's It's simply the best day. So, I just want to express my sincere gratitude to Jean Goocher and Keaton Bromberger and the entire planning committee because they go above and beyond every year. Once again, this event ran seamlessly and it's just amazing. Because of the unique nature of our district, it's really hard to have an event that is truly district-wide. This is the only one I can think of that really has all the things. Um you'll see athletes 3 to 22 participating. You'll see middle school and high school best buddies putting on events for students. You'll see Parkview students walking down the field with handmade signs cheering on their participants. Middle school and high school students fill the stands enthusiastically cheering on their peers. Even Eagleview gets to join with a parade and a live stream activity. So students can cheer on their friends that are participating in the event.
I believe Dr. Taylor is going to address that a little bit later in this brief presentation, but we want to just um that might lead you to the question, why even purchase them, right? We have onetoone devices. We are very blessed. We have had Canvas for a long time. Um we have high quality teachers. Why do we need to purchase those additional resources? And the picture that's on the screen, if you can see it, it's the Buffalo Bills Wild West. We do not want our students experience to be the wild west. We need to provide and Dr. Simmers has has you know really championed this work, right? We want to provide highquality curricular materials that support the implementation of a guaranteed and viable experience for our students across all learning experiences. We also want to acknowledge that our teachers are juggling many many things. They are humans too.