um made it's a senior elective class and uh we started working on the the actual presentation in February and by that time they had already acquired a number of uh real life experiences throughout the district that kind of put them in a position to kind of uh really spearhead the training. Um and when we sat down and decided what we wanted it to look like, we kind of leaned into um a a program that we piloted earlier in the school year at Dittle School. We went out and we talked about how you can serve your community. And when when you look at an elementary school, it's K through six. And you know, there's a really wide range of students that you need to appeal to. So the peer health educators had built out a structure of K through kindergarten, first, second, and third graders. They would go into the classroom and they would read a book that was related to the subject matter.
So. Um then the other changes for year one from the last time we spoke um we talked about the outbuilding re- uh the outbuilding replacement uh at CHS. That was one of the items that we actually saw on the tour, and that is in this one-year piece of paper um that is 27? Is that 27? Yes, exactly. Cut it before for me. Um so that's the outbuilding where Rich was kind of walking around where like we were keeping sand and salt basically in the just in the parking area. >> a cover over that. >> Yes. Um and part of the reason I moved some of these I do think that, you know, as especially as we're seeing snow and needing more salt and asking for snow equipment, um having the appropriate places for it is important. I think another piece of this is just kind of leveling the ask throughout the years.
ESTUDIANTES, YOU MAY NOW MOVE YOUR TASSEL FROM RIGHT TO LEFT. Sí, se pudo. Congratulations. >> [cheering] [cheering] >> Okay. Wait, why are people leaving? Give them the moment. Get the lights on. Give them the moment. Okay. >> Graduates, please be seated. Uh thank you, Dr. McCollester. Oh my gosh. Graduates, please remain standing for the playing of our alma mater for by our Savannah High School Band and Choir. I'm so sorry. Gracias, Dr. McCollester. Graduados, por favor, permanezcan de pie para la interpretación de nuestro alma mater a cargo de la banda y el coro de Savannah High School. Glory, >> [music] >> we sing to you, Savannah High. >> [singing] >> Praises >> [music] >> we sing >> [music and singing] >> to you, Savannah High. >> [music] >> Through >> [singing] >> all the years, our hearts will >> [music] >> ever be loyal >> [singing] >> and true >> [music] >> to you, Savannah High.
Her positivity is contagious, her lead genuine, and her future is incredibly bright. I'm so proud of you, Binland, and I cannot wait to watch all the amazing things you accomplish. And with that, this wraps up my final speech here at the school district. But hey, I have one next week at graduation, and it's pretty fire. I'm so grateful for my time here. I'm grateful for every student, every teacher, every opportunity, and for growing up in a community that helped me raise me into who I am today. And before I go, there's one final thing I really, really don't want you to forget. Sunundevil pride is contagious. >> Good evening, Superintendent Nelson, President Buchanan, members of the board, and attendees. My name is Brendan Chidik and I'm currently honored to serve as Apple Valley High School's junior class vice president and I'm incredibly hon grateful and excited to share that I'll be serving as the ASB line president for the upcoming school year.
Our next winner is David Ortado for his responsible and reliable work. Hello, my name is Mark Moria. I'm a vice president commercial lender at Golden Valley Bank for 20 year Oh, wait a minute. I'm also a proud member of the Pleasant Valley High School class of 1979. For 20 years, Golden Valley Bank has been partnering with successful businesses in our area. We value those relationships because they are so important to our community. If you look around this room, nothing in this room would exist without business owners and their teams doing what they do day in and day out. That is why our preference is to provide scholarships to students who plan to study courses in business, in economics or courses that will foster their entrepreneurial spirit. So I have two awards today. The first one is the Golden Dolly Bank Galloway Scholarship and that is for Wyatt Adams.
Um, I I really appreciate the support, and I'm I'm proud to announce that under the leadership of our chairperson, Ms. Jen Algerie, that one evening, we raised over $16,000 for scholarships, in addition to our other fundraisers this year. I'm extremely proud to announce that the superintendent scholarship fund will be awarding $27,000 in scholarships this year. So, makes me makes me very very proud to be able to give give back to our kids, thanks to all of your support. Uh, those scholarships will go to students who are entering a career in teaching or nursing, uh, students who have displayed outstanding character, um, or students who are attending vocational technical schools. Um, we had, uh, a fair number of applications, and we believe most of those students will be getting some money monetary donations. I want to reiterate what Mr. Santiago and Mrs. Basford said about the legislative committee last night.
Uh the annual appointments uh item 6.1 to 6.2. Do I have a motion to approve item 6.1 to 6.2? Motion from anyone? Mr. DeMartine and seconded by Mr. Wilson. Any questions or comments related to the annual appointments and approvals? >> [clears throat] >> Seeing none, roll call, please, Mr. Yates. Roll call, Mr. DeMartine. Yes. Mr. Fisher. Yes. Ms. Iannelli. Yes. Mr. Contant. Yes. Mr. Masson. Yes. Mr. Phelan. Yes. Mr. Wilson. Yes. Ms. Bucher-Moits. Yes. And Ms. Knoll. Yes. The motion carries. Okay, thank you. Now we will move on to the approval of meeting minutes. Do I have a motion to approve item 7.1 to 7.3? Mr. Fisher seconded by Ms. Bucher-Moits.
Members of the AW Unified School District governing board, Superintendent Dr. Roman Sautero, faculty and distinguished guests, each of the students seated before you has fulfilled the requirements set forth by the Aaho Unified School District and the state of Arizona. It is with immense pride that I present to you the class of 2026. >> Now I invite the governing board president, Mr. Rodney Hopkins, who will accept the class of 2026 on behalf of the district. Good evening everybody. Such a privilege to stand before you on this momentous occasion of years of dedication, perseverance, and growth. You overcome challenges, embrace opportunities to build memories that will last a lifetime. You lead Aaho High School not just with a diploma, but with the strength and spirit to shape your future. And now, by the authority vested in me by the Aaho Unified School District governing board, I proudly accept the class of 2026 as graduates of all high school.
We have all achieved something meaningful. At the same time, we have all failed at something, too. Failure does not define us. In many ways, our failures taught us more than the successes ever could. They taught us perseverance, patience, and resilience. As seniors, we have also experienced challenges that brought us closer together through the happy moments, the painful ones, and we learned the importance of supporting each other like family. That bond is something special. It is something I hope we never forget. We have come such a long way since August. For some of us, this school year felt incredibly slow. For others, it passed by too quickly. Somehow, we've made it here. We are finally graduating. We are finally closing this chapter of our lives and preparing to begin another one. Graduation is exciting, but it is also emotional because it means change. Soon, many of us will be going our separate ways.
Maria Longo. Followed by the full list of graduating seniors read by Mr. Stephen Lackowitz, Ms. Holly Ledkey, Mr. Gregory Sears, Ms. Dina Silver, and Mr. Andrew Stegen. Ameen Barakat Abdul-Jalil. Rhiannon Noel Plunkett. Samuel Jason Guillermo. Tyson Robert Woodward. Chase Harrison Whitehead. Olivia Grace Madsen. Ian Richard Lockridge. Rebecca Gail Humphreys. Kylie Rose Stats. Taylor Elise Herring. >> Amal Abdel Rahman Gavin Porter Allen Rana Youssef Alfredo Amasquita Jr. Aselia Andar Abekova Daniel Obina Anumba Francis Gabriel Aquino Osborne Seth James Archuleta Gael Osmar Amendarez Carrasco Blaze Wayne Armstrong Cassandra Annelise Aviles Devin Baber Cassidy Louise Baykoff Noah Batter Zoe Lavon Bodet Baron Bresney Gabriel Caloyero Bernal Diaz Grace Faith Bizenet Alexander Jonathan Bjork Riley James Blank Logan Aubrey Blankstrom Aiden Andrew Blazie Shane Gregory Bliss Samantha Renee Blasco Jacob Alexander Bogan Hagen Anissa Faith Bohorquez Cody Bonina Wyatt Boyd Molly Alicia Briggs Ian William Brin Daniel Alexander Bringas Gabriel Brooks Josiah Cole Buchanan Allison Ali Bush Raymond Bayard Arellano Nathan Byler Naveah Esperanza Caceres Robert Ray Calderon Jr.
Elijah Rainey, Joshua Rainey, Grace Marie Rants, Raiden Russell Racer, AJ Riley, Jacob Muretta, Recamirea Recendes Ernnandez Alexander Enrique Reyes Haley Joy Riggs Kobe Michael Rinker Matthew Ria, Ana Ria, Reyes, Preston Robbins, Ezra James Robinette, Rihanna Ray Robbins, Ethan Santiago Robo, Alysia Maren Robles, Marcy Fernanda Robles, Mayumi Alysia Robles, Santiago Alan Robles, Andrea Bernice Rodriguez, Gabriel Lee Bidwell Rodriguez, Malaysia Asia Marie Robbuk, Marquez Robach MJ Francisco Roel Jr. Christian Xavier Romero Aiden John Rousozen Jessica Rain Rostenhousler Nicholas Rotunda, Bella Claire Ruich, Rowan Ruiz, Reagan Russell, Felix Isai Salazar, Saul Selenas Jr. Janessa Angel Samgo, Adolf Adam Mauricio Sanchez, Adrien David Sanchez, Gabriel Julian Sanchez, Alex Sanchez Murphy, Luke Sain, Laya Janette Schaefer, Megan Elizabeth Shane, Era May Scoggin, Nia Lauren Scott, Jackson Walter Scott, Joshua Renee Scott, Julian Joshua Seolt, Brianna Lee Sers, Alexia Grace Cerna Payton McKenzie Sharp Joshua Paris Sahan Cactus Singer Roxy I singer Rain Sapphire sinks John Calvin Slusher.
Um so, their parents will come and enjoy. They'll probably parade in. I'll announce to them what they're doing, and then we'll parade out. Awesome. It's my big full to show off all of their hard work. So much growth happens. I talk about this in the beginning of the year. So much growth happens over the first year. Students are reading and writing. Students are literally learning how to talk. We have one of our speech students, a couple of our Ace Olympics friends that Mrs. Bird has spoke about are also here. These are the proud families. They're just coming in to witness, and then we'll have I mean, they're great, too. They could probably show off some work, but they're not the ones I particularly invited to show off their work tonight. Um and I did tell Mrs. um Vinnie that if we're going to have groups like this, we could always have with prior notice move to a gym.
I am not going to make you dizzy by pulling that up. So let me just hop back to the slideshow and talk a little bit about world language which I had not talked about yet. So world language is one of those areas where they felt they could keep their paper materials. That has been a huge cost savings for us. Um it is not every course that we've been able to do that. The um AP exam for instance has been updated for uh AP French and AP Spanish. As a result, we need to make sure that our scope and sequence is going to align to that preparation for those students. So there are some um materials that are not a readoption but whenever possible the way we reduced was by keeping our materials that we have um and I really appreciate and I want to highlight um Christy Fleck is the world language department chair and Josh Surface is the English department chair.
Kids can sign up to go to that class during that flex period to get intervention if they need to or if they do have questions. But, we'll also run grade reports every Friday and up- upload those and missing assignments. If a student is failing or missing assignments, they're automatically assigned to the lab or to that teacher for intervention. So, when the kid goes to make a selection because they want to go do something else or or go to a club, they'll see that they've already been assigned the math lab to get that grade back up. Once the grade's up, it totally opens up the flexibility and choice for them again. Um a lot of this is the same thing we've been doing. We've just been doing it by hand, manually, spreadsheets, pink passes, running around the building handing them out, finding kids. And And as Mrs.
The runner takes off for the plate and she will score and the big lead does pay off as she scores on a pass ball and it's two to one. Yeah, actually I'm I'm although I'm a catcher's dad, I'm going to say that was a wild pitch. That thing was in the dirt, really tough to get there. So, I think when it's in the dirt, it's not a pass ball, but we we will still got to keep those in front of us if at all possible. Yeah, tying right now at third, but a swing and a miss by Sullivan and that will do it for the top of the second, but the wild pitch allows Grafton to score and it's two to one. Yeah, it's unfortunate that Carolyn was not able to get in front of that one. It did sneak by her. Uh and those those are those are tough plays.
Lastly, we had a presentation from the business department. Leslie Pear was present to share with us the summary of the Cheshire Curriculum Council 5-year review on all of the business courses and the business program offered at the high school in grades 9 through 12. My superin- My assistant superintendent's report simply talked about um some work that we are doing focusing on AI. We led We, meaning Azra and I, led a um activity for our district instructional leadership team, which is made up of teacher leaders from across the district. We're in the middle of crafting an AI literacy outline for students and for teachers that we are hopeful to launch next year. We also, Dr. Solon and I, also ran the same activity for the Cheshire Strategic Planning Committee, which is made up of a variety of teachers that serve a 2-year term on Strategic Planning.
We collaborated with a number of our uh teachers and media specialists in the school to identify the books and the students would go in and read the books and fourth, fifth and sixth graders, we would do a presentation style uh interaction. So when we got the students together, our first job was to um talk a little bit about how to present. So the pure health educators um in in really short order I think in around January February time frame we realized this is what we wanted to do and in rather matter of probably weeks uh the pure health educators actually developed the training. So um another layer of this is the authentic nature of this. It's really authentic learning at its best. Uh students not only teaching students but um the leaders actually learning as they went along. So [snorts] the first session was how to present, how to how to read, how to read to a kindergarten, which would seem quite easy.
I do want to name that you know last year we asked for uh the five-year plan was $62 million. That's been reduced to a little over $31 million over five years. Uh part of that is due to the EPC. So, the the ask in general over five years is a lot less this time around, but I didn't want to, you know, have it like all different amounts of money across five years. So, as much as possible tried to level the funding ask year to year. Yeah, no, what the council does with roads is they basically I mean my recollection from when I was on the council is it's a 20-year plan and I did put out pretty much every you know year they put out another million and a half or two million dollars. So if it's two million dollars, you know, you can expect to be 40 million dollars to replace all the roads.
>> [music] >> Okay. Graduates, please be seated. Uh before the closing remarks, um I would like to say thank you to my mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and my cousins. Uh thank you for all the support. Now, thank you for attending the 2026 commencement ceremony for Savannah High School. Family and friends, please remain seated until all graduates have recessed out of the stadium. Graduates, please follow our distinguished guests as they exit this exit the stage and stadium. Parents, family members, and friends, our graduates were notified earlier to meet your vehicle after the ceremony. Remember to take all of your belongings with you as you exit the stadium and enjoy the rest of your day. Okay. Mom, dad, Savannah High School. Gracias. And we did it, class of 2026. >> [cheering] [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [music] Yeah. Yeah. [music] Yeah.
This this opportunity means so much to me and I'm truly thankful for everyone who has supported me, believed in me and guided me through moments when I doubted what was possible. I would especially like to thank my mom for always encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, try new things and always give my best effort. I would also like to thank God for every blessing and opportunity I have been given along the way. I'd also like to give a special thank you to Effie for always pushing me to be the best version of myself. I'll never forget when being a nervous seventh grader scared to join ASB and having someone truly believed in me and encouraged me every step of the way. That support has meant more to me than words can express. I as I begin this new chapter, I'm excited for the opportunity to help lead our school student body and create fun, successful, meaningful year for all students.