001is [Music] huh [Music] two [Music] good morning and welcome to the national honor society induction ceremony my name is eddie president of the national honor society at this time i ask you to please rise for the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all i would now like to introduce superintendent of schools dr jeffrey solon [Applause] thank you eddie good morning everyone wow tough crowd good morning everyone today is such a wonderful celebratory day it's okay to express some of that excitement and enthusiasm for our incredible students here this morning it is really my pleasure to be here and honor you today before i acknowledge our inductees however i
002want to take a moment to recognize those in our community who support you in your success i know that the friends families and educators and attendants here today have served as the bedrock for our inductees i'd like to ask that our inductees please rise for a moment and give you a round of applause thank you guys i know that certainly at the very least the people in the audience today deserve that recognition from you and from us because we recognize that education and success is really a team effort so thank you so much for being partners with us in your the education of your children family whoever you're here to support today but by virtue of your induction here this morning i recognize that you're not a group that i need to inspire to action
003you aren't students who would necessarily benefit from a pet talk on leadership or community service having served the past decade as the cheshire high school principal and then superintendent of our amazing school system i appreciate the hard-working and focused students who arrive on this stage you're a special group it's with that in mind that i will ask you to breathe now that isn't some figure of speech but a genuine request for our inductees i would ask that you perhaps close your eyes if you're comfortable and of course those of you in a tendency join if you wish and take a breath as you take in a breath slowly count to three and as you exhale you can count to three as well let's take in one more slow breath and one more slow breath out
004as you continue to take easy breaths in and out i want you to picture someone you are grateful for in your mind as you continue to breathe focus on what that person looks like in your mind maybe you can hear their voice or see how they move but do your best to picture that person in your head continue to take easy breaths and focus on that person let's just take one or two more breaths and you can retrieve the room here as you are inductees continue to grow achieve and lead throughout your life there will be no shortage of stress in our world today we can easily find ourselves surrounded by critics and occasionally we can even be our own worst enemy in that regard this is your reminder to take care of yourself you
005are already people who make a difference in the world we need you to be grounded healthy and a good place to continue to do that work taking care of yourself will be the best way to ensure that continues for a long time forward i know that you have so many skills that you bring to the table some of which i've already mentioned in scholarship and leadership service i hope that you could be reminded of that important skill of taking care of yourself that makes that all possible for you your friends your family and your community thank you for all that you do for our students and community congratulations on all of your success and best wishes moving forward thank you guys [Applause] the nhs was founded in 1921 and is sponsored by the national association
006of secondary school principals its goal is to recognize and encourage excellence in scholarship leadership character and service each school which holds an nhs chapter sets its own standards within a general national framework the students we honor here tonight have academic averages of 4.0 or higher and have established outstanding records of service character and leadership according to their personal statements and the assessments made by their teachers i want to congratulate these students and express our school's pride in their achievements [Applause] the first candle represents truth and knowledge the two goals to which the young people we honor today aspire i will light this candle to symbolize the nhs pillar students will speak about the meaning of these principles now i would like to introduce one of our code arco vice presidents grace downing and josh cappell
007who will talk about character [Applause] character is the force within each individual which distinguishes that person from others it gives each one individuality and personality it is that without which no one can respect oneself or hope to attain the respect of others it is this force or character which guides when through character is achieved and not received is the product of constant action daily striving to make the right choice the problem of character is the problem of self-control we must be in reality what we wish to appear to others by demonstrating such qualities such as reliability honesty and sincerity we may hope to prove by example that we have valued character i would like to introduce our clerk nadia bauco who will talk about service [Applause] service can be expressed in various ways in the
008routine of the day's work many opportunities arise to help others willingness to work without monetary compensation or without recognition for the benefit of those in need is the quality we seek in our members we are committed to the idea of volunteering our time and abilities to the creation for a better tomorrow it is my pleasure to introduce mantra narayanan minister of information who will talk about leadership [Applause] [Music] leadership should exert a wholesome influence on school in taking the initiative in class and school activities the real leader strives to train and aid others to attain the same objectives the price of one's leadership is sacrifice the willingness to yield one per one's personal interest to the interest of others a leader should have self-confidence and will go forward when others hesitate no matter what power
009or resources may exist in a country they are ineffectual without guidance of a wise leader leadership is always needed and is thus a substantive charge to each of our members and to the candidates our media coordinator ashley john will talk about the principles of nhs [Applause] scholarship means a commitment to learning a student is willing to spend hours in reading and study knowing that lasting benefits of a cultivated mind we should continue to learn even if when formal education has ended or education only ends with length knowledge is one great element in life which leads to the highest success and it can be acquired in only one way due diligence and effort learning furnishes the land by which we beat the past and the light which illuminates the future candidates have the charge to continually
010expand their work through the opportunities inherited scholarship now i would like to introduce the inviters advisors of nhs mrs chris niaz and mrs carbunch presented certificates [Applause] it is my pleasure to call on each inductee to stand up and be recognized edward chen [Applause] grace downing joshua coble nadia falco [Applause] ashley john [Applause] ethan cohen [Applause] avery d podesta [Applause] isabelle jarrah [Applause] madeleine falcone annabelle fletcher megan george skew [Applause] emily grayson [Applause] annabelle keelan jenna kemp [Applause] emma lepiston elena [Applause] ben o'connor rebecca pryor alexandra san angelo i'm all safer rowan scotty zoe schwab jessica searing [Applause] caroline stanton [Applause] utsub supermany tyler tan [Applause] amelia [Applause] intensive [Applause] oops inductees it is now time for the honors society pledge please stand i ask you to repeat after me i pledge to maintain my
011high scholastic standing to hold this fundamental and worthy and untarnished character to endeavor intelligently and courageously congratulations you are now officially members of the national honor society [Applause] it's my pleasure to introduce our principal dr manny gap [Applause] thank you mrs carbone oh congratulations what a great day for you so good morning i'd like to thank thank you good morning i'd like to thank dr solman our superintendent of schools and of course our national honor society officers nhm president grace downing and josh coppolco vice president montgomery minister of information now the abelco clerk and ashley john media coordinator can you just give this an applause [Applause] i'd also like to thank our two junior nhs reps anna pochu and lopez for handing out programs and being here to support the society this morning thank you
012also to our nhs advisors donna carbone and holly skrismars for making this such a meaningful and lovely event i'd also like to thank our outstanding student you can applaud i'd also like to thank our outstanding student musicians zach ice back dylan shore zach schnitzer jeremy sisdeck silas wang will pollock and bradley lance what a great job they did this morning [Applause] and last but most definitely not least i'd like to thank mr salamini in the back they are coordinating all things technical to support this important and celebratory event for our students and all of you so [Applause] so i promised i would be brief so you can get outside and have some trees prepared by mrs woldenberg in the culinary arts class and shakespeare tells us brevity is the soul of wits so i'll try
013not to make that comment ironic so this morning we celebrate your many achievements and we know no great achievement is accomplished without incredibly hard work i am so proud of all of you for your diligence especially through such a tumultuous two years your service to our community is noteworthy and truly being of service depends on your demonstration of the remaining pillars of the national honor society it takes leadership for you to put the needs of others before your own character to demonstrate your values in action by doing the right thing even when no one is watching and true scholarship means synthesizing what you've learned to truly contribute your gifts to the world service challenges us to do what's right what is needed and not what is convenient a great teacher once told me leadership is
014about living a life of inconvenience when you give of yourself an act of service of others you exemplify what is best in humankind but we know it is no simple task as ben franklin observed motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes membership in nhs is exactly the kind of vehicle that provides opportunities for you to engage in hard work but in doing so continue to discover who you are and what you value through the act of helping others you along with your fellow national honor society members are charged with the great responsibility of bringing hope and inspiration to others by your actions and your example and we need sterling examples of hope and authentic character you are all an inspiration to others you are the keepers of light and hope and you are
015the leaders who will continue to build and sustain a compassionate community so congratulations to each and every one of you and this is such a special day continue the celebration outside and let's have a round of applause thank you so much and this concludes our ceremony this morning thank you all very very much for being here it's nice to see you all here [Applause] [Music]