001good afternoon and welcome to the national honor society induction ceremony my name is lucy helene 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 thank you very much lucy and good afternoon everyone i want to begin by certainly acknowledging our students but also taking a moment to recognize those in our community who support you in our success or your success i know that the friends families and educators all watching this afternoon have served as the backbone for our inductees i'd like to
002ask that our inductees please rise for a moment and give everyone watching who have supported you a warm round of applause for their their effort [Applause] thank you and i will say that this is a little bit unique for me uh for all of us but uh usually when we do this presentation in this ceremony our parents are seated and our friends and family are seated in the audience and as much as i bemoan the fact that the circumstances have kept them from being able to attend in person here today i will say that it is really special for me to be able to look at you our honorees today as i make my remarks the four pillars of the national honor society include scholarship service and character in my mind those attributes and actions
003serve as the foundation for the fourth pillar which is leadership leadership is not an attribute it's not an action leadership is a lifestyle and i'm going to turn the clock way back on you now so when i was a little kid and i we only had like i don't know 20 stations on the television back then and i would watch reruns of batman and during the batman episodes the mayor would pick up the bat phone and call batman and do a special bat signal that went out into the air for your generation it might be like teen titans go how they did that and in the episode batman would in robin would rush to the scene fix the problem everybody would be happy and kind of go on with their way of life the circumstances
004today are a little bit like that you are our batman for the cheshire public schools and the cheshire community you are the leaders in our community that we turn to when times get challenging but unlike the batman episode or teen titans go it's not so tidy and wrapped up in 30 minutes in our case it's not even 30 days or 30 weeks maybe as i said leadership is a lifestyle the way that you've carried yourself with character scholarship and commitment to community reflects that commitment to the leadership lifestyle throughout life people will continue to turn to you the honor society from cheshire public schools long after this ceremony is over as leaders in our community but i will also tell you firsthand the longer that these crises drag out the more important it becomes to
005take care of each other in yourselves so life can be stressful even during non-coveted times right we recognize that and there are new wrinkles and new challenges but you will always have each other is your foundation of community support for your leadership lifestyle and so i want to not only congratulate you but most sincerely thank you for what you do for our community the challenges that you've gone through are significant and clear nevertheless you endeavor to be who you are and lead everyone else in our community don't think for a second that that goes unacknowledged or unnoticed we appreciate you and so as i said i'm not just here to congratulate you but to thank you for doing what you do for each other and for everybody in the cheshire community congratulations and thank you
006very much thank you dr sullin uh the national honor society was founded in 1921 and is sponsored by the national association of secondary school principals its goal is to recognize and encourage excellence in scholarship leadership character and service each school which holds a national honor society charter 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 assessments made by their teachers i want to congratulate these students and express our school's pride in their achievements 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 national honor society pillar students will speak
007about the meaning of these principles now i would like to introduce one of our co-vice presidents danielle hirsch who will talk about [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 nor hope to attain the respect of others it is this force of character which guides one through life and when once developed grows steadily character is achieved and not received it 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 be to others by demonstrating such qualities as reliability honesty and sincerity we may hope to prove by example that we have valued
008character i would like to introduce our clerk grace u who will talk about service service can be expressed in various ways in the routine 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 that we seek in our members we are committed to the idea of volunteering our time and abilities to the creation of a better tomorrow it is my pleasure to introduce kelly margulis minister of information who will talk about leadership leadership should exert a wholesome influence on the 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 leadership is sacrifice the willingness to yield one's personal interest
009for the interest of others a leader has self-confidence and will go forward when others hesitate no matter what power and 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 aish venzie 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 the lasting benefits of a cultivated mind you should continue to learn even when formal education has ended for education ends only with life knowledge is one great element in life which leads to the highest success and it can be acquired in only one way through diligence and effort learning furnishes the lamp
010by which we read the past and the light which illuminates the future candidates have the charge to continually expand their world through the opportunities inherent in scholarship now i would like to introduce the advisors of nhs donna carbone and holly scruziars to present these certificates it is my pleasure to call on each inductee to stand and be recognized lucy helene danielle hirsch [Applause] grace you kelly margulies [Applause] ash warrior benzie ida adigazil [Applause] mary bardo alyssa emma blake sophie raylan sarah capute megan crowley [Applause] kristen daddy [Applause] connor d labelle [Applause] isabella del rosa [Applause] kalika desai nicholas de dimincio [Applause] danielle ellis [Applause] aaron fernandez [Applause] emma glover lillian george joshua goldstein gabrielle katz [Applause] jazlyn cower yasha laskan [Applause] megan mcdonough [Applause] kimberly morico [Applause] sophie murphy margaret norton [Applause] adam open tia
011pasquale [Applause] brianna pearson grace pettit [Applause] hannah cordon [Applause] olivia prezioso [Applause] ellie rockoff simone rosenberg [Applause] alexandra tyler [Applause] taylor warburton [Applause] and tina sang [Applause] inductees it is now time for the honor society pledge please repeat after me i pledge to maintain my high scholastic standing to hold as fundamental and worthy and untarnished character to endeavor intelligently and courageously to be a leader and to give of myself freely in service to others congratulations you are now officially members of national honor society we'd like to introduce the principal dr mary gab [Applause] thank you mrs carbone and mr snarls oh good afternoon again and congratulations to all of our inductees first thank you dr solin our superintendent of schools mr paragini our board of education chairperson and our national honor society officers lucy helene
012president danielle hirsch and brooke demaio co-vice presidents kelly margulis minister of information grace u clerk media coordinator arshwara benzie thank you all and thank you to our nhs advisors again mrs carbone and mr chris murray for making this such a meaningful and lovely event and last but definitely not least thank you to mr salamini for making it possible for us to broadcast this important and celebratory event to parents and families and mr warburton i see over there giving an assist as well today on the camera this afternoon we celebrate your achievement and we know no great achievement is accomplished without hard work thank you for your diligence but also thank you for your service in a time when being together the heart of service is nearly impossible you gave of yourselves for your school and
013community your commitment is noteworthy and when you give of yourself and act in the service of others you exemplify what is the very best in humankind you've been inducted into an extremely prestigious organization and it counts among its members presidents novelists nfl players astronauts senators on and on and as you join this illustrious group of nhs members my advice to you is to embrace all of the opportunities in front of you right now you're building grit and perseverance each and every day as you navigate the impact of coronavirus and in doing so you're going to discover exactly what you care about membership in national honor society is exactly the kind of vehicle that provides opportunities for you to continue to discover what you care about but also to help others along the way the future
014belongs to you along with fellow nhs members you're charged with the responsibility of bringing hope and inspiration to others by your actions and many of you have already done that and by your example at this time in history it's going to bring inspiration in a time when inspiration and hope is sorely sorely needed you've achieved a milestone today and we honor you today but as the saying goes to whom much is given much shall be expected your journey has just begun but from today forward know you are keepers of light and hope like those flames there and you'll continue to build and sustain a compassionate community so thank you and congratulations to each and every one of you and have a wonderful day of celebration so congratulations