001okay good afternoon parents guardians families and special guests to the west side middle school academy's class of 2022 promotion ceremony my name is samantha ruffles and i am the president of westside's chapter of the national junior honor society would you all please rise for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for the singing of the national anthem 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 please remain standing [Music] me [Music] does thy sauce [Music] [Applause] sorry it's harder on these shoes so can everyone please be stated i would now like to introduce our principal dr frank leblanca [Applause] good afternoon everyone what a wonderful afternoon to celebrate our eighth graders and their
002accomplishments we are certainly very proud of all they have done during their middle school years and they were certainly a very special class eighth graders you are about to experience the next big change in your life the beginning of your high school years before we continue we would like to take a moment to recognize and thank those who have helped plan and organize this afternoon ceremony special thanks to miss sanchez and mrs fanoff our school's administrative assistants for all their preparation [Applause] ms ryfberg and mr dara our school counselors for helping organize the ceremony and mr lewis our music teacher for our special musical entertainment and we'd certainly like to thank our eighth grade teachers mrs near mr rovnak mr mcavoy mrs larosa mrs locke mrs claubida mrs navarro mrs strazza mrs shasanyu mr gavlik
003mr ferreira mr o'neill and miss christine [Applause] the danbury public school system has 19 schools over 12 000 students and nearly a thousand staff members that are united under the leadership of our district we all work together under that leadership toward a common goal to have students who are high achievers independent learners and who make positive contributions both to the school and the community i would like to also acknowledge our special guests mr wallston superintendent of schools dr casamiro assistant superintendent of schools mrs truches assistant superintendent of schools mr roach chief of k-8 schools mr miranda deputy finance director and also our board members that are here rachel celeski michelle coelho lauren daley louisa zagattis britain and al russo good okay but let's hear from our students they're going to perform a musical selection our
0048th grade chorus and choir are going to now perform a musical selection for us [Music] through [Music] so call me crazy [Music] cause every night [Music] i is [Music] see is [Music] for me [Music] let's hear it for our eighth grade choir and chorus [Applause] okay and students you can return to your seats come on uh oh yeah okay let's have a round of applause for the students one more time at this time i'd like to welcome our superintendents of school mr kevin walston to give his greetings [Applause] so for those of you who don't know dr lafranc dr labonka is very organized and everything is neatly organized and ready to go except for my speech and now i have it ready time is up so good afternoon everyone so welcome to the west side
005middle school graduation ceremony of 2021 for those of you meeting me for the first time i am kevin wilson your superintendent thank you dr labanca and even though i'm not standing at a white board or grading papers every day i know very well all the hard work you your teachers behind me your parents behind you and all the hard work it took them to get you here today i know because i was a teacher i was a student and i am a parent i know what every one of those roles entails and i know how much harder they got over the last two years but for all of us here today is a testament for the fortitude that makes danbury public schools danbury teachers and danbury families and students so great and for those of
006you out in the audience this afternoon who are nervous about going to high school next year don't be be excited for all the new people and experiences you're going to have and how this time will catapult you into college and adulthood in a world of work today's moving up ceremony marks a significant step for you congratulations to all of our graduates and i look forward to seeing you guys in the high school congratulations [Applause] thank you mr wallston and now i'd like to introduce our mayor mayor esposito good afternoon everyone good afternoon students it's an honor for me to be here today as your mayor this one of the first times i get this honor as mayor to be able to address the the classes on moving up first i'd like to thank uh superintendent
007walston for all the work that he's done moving the school forward moving the whole district forward and obviously he does that with our board of ed we have border bed members here as well but for you the students i just want to take a minute to congratulate you this has been a tough three years moving forward and moving up at this point is uh is a true blessing because you've been through a lot with the covid you've been home schooled you've been in school you've had masks on you've had masks off and just being a student at your age is tough enough but i commend you for everything you've done you've provided yourselves with a good solid education and it's time for you to move up here to danbury high school or wherever you may
008attend and it's an honor for me to be here and i'd also like to congratulate those parents out there for keeping the kids in in in line and helping them move forward with through this covet and just move forward with their education congratulations to you parents and most of all congratulations to you students on moving on up thank you very much [Applause] throughout the spring a number of students were recognized for special awards they have already received these awards so we ask the following students please rise wave to the crowd and be once again recognized for your outstanding achievements the connecticut associations of board of education award went to cullen sturdivant and hannah talbot the superintendent's award went to isabella confertini and robert ronald phillip the presidential silver academic award was awarded to all students
009who achieved the honor roll [Applause] and finally the presidential gold academic award was awarded to students who achieved high honors [Applause] today i have the pleasure of presenting the principles award the principal's award was selected by me in consultation with eighth grade teachers to recognize students who best represent what we think a model student at west side middle school academy should be these students selected have achieved academic excellence extelled at stem and global studies projects and displayed excellent character and leadership and this year's principal's award goes to in global studies dramatic pause iago castro and in stem here in surrey you guys can come up you get something [Applause] okay we will now recognize sorry we will now recognize our scholar leaders in addition to receiving an award they will have the honor of speaking
010with you today sydney borst will speak about her middle school experience and arush lola will speak about the future that lies ahead good afternoon all it is my honor to speak to you today on behalf of the west side middle school academy stem student body before progressing too far into my speech i did want to take the opportunity to thank dr leblanca miss blue the school's administration all the wonderful teachers and staff my fellow middle school peers and our families for their support and getting us to this point when asked to recount our time at west side my mind immediately became flooded with the spectrum of thoughts and emotions words and phrases that define the past three years for us included middle school orientation covid distance learning google meets hybrid learning math squaring social distancing
011quarantining and returned in-person learning i could easily go on and on listing words and phrases that describe what life was like for us but one word that you would not find on my list is normal i think we can all agree that our middle school experience has been anything but that so upon further reflection i thought of another word that i felt really described our middle school years and that was endure to endure is to remain firm under misfortune without yielding when i look out into the crowd of my friends and peers i marvel at a resiliency to endure though confronted by once in a lifetime world events we endure through our unbeatable sphere of perseverance we are an amazing collection of abilities passions and traits that shared an experience that has bonded us in
012ways that no one can truly appreciate i have heard people say that we are the generation that will have been forever changed by our world but believe that they have it wrong we are the ones because of what we have been through who will forever change this world our perseverance and will to endure in the face of difficulties has prepared us for life's next great challenges whether those challenges are the uncertainty of freshman year in high school or something different i can emphatically state that we will go there with confidence that there is nothing we can't handle i wanted to end my speech with a quote from henry ford who said life is a series of experiences each one of which makes us bigger even though sometimes it is hard to realize this for the
013world was built to develop character and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us and are marching onward i hope that everyone enjoys this special day today and celebrates the journey that it took for us to get here thank you [Applause] good afternoon families friends teachers administrators and most importantly the 8th grade class of 2022 my name is arush lola and it's an honor to speak at the graduate promotion ceremony today first and foremost i would like to thank my parents parents are the first teachers for anyone in life they were there for me throughout the course of my academic journey so far next i would like to thank all my teachers counselors and mentors for guiding me through the journey of preschool elementary and now middle school i shall
014always be thankful for that i would also like to thank my classmates and friends for making my middle school experience a memorable one today be the class of 2022 move on to the next significant schooling experience which is high school as a young boy i had many challenges such as english not being my native language distractions and diversions as i grew up i overcame all of those challenges by putting in hard work in elementary school my interest in learning various subjects and facts about our world rose this was the start of a journey coming into middle school i had the great op i had a great opportunity getting into west side middle school academy especially global studies i was always interested in learning about the world and being in global studies helped me better on
015have a better understanding of world issues and more knowledge about globalization it all started as a fairly normal sixth grade school year with good learnings and fun experiences sixth grade was a grade that just flew by but in the end what followed was a completely unprecedented scenario the coronavirus pandemic not only was this a challenge for me but it was probably a challenge for everyone present in the ceremony and everywhere else in the world social distancing and isolating ourselves for many months and many families struggling with the virus were some of the many obstacles that the whole world had to face and eventually overcome however as a class we all endured the challenges that were posed by distance learning through online meetings office hours with teachers and even school counseling videos we the students were
016able to cope with the mental turmoil of covid learning to adapt to new changes being common positive and challenging times and utilizing this time for our advantage were some of the key lessons and learnings that we all embraced as a group our current 8th grade class should strive to become the best versions of ourselves and achieve greater heights the practice of setting a growth mindset and not being afraid to showcase our faults is an easy but effective way to become a better you the willingness to achieve good grades isn't the only thing needed to become a successful student but the determination of learning new things every day is key that too with a good character as martin luther king jr once said intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education the driving force
017behind all of our 8th graders should be our curiosity to explore our passions which will put us in great positions in high school and our future endeavors curiosity is something that comes by instinct not something that's implied by force we just had to open up and let our mind speak when we're curious we can not only learn more information and facts but we can also find our likes and what we would pursue as a career whether it's long term or short term like walt disney the founder of disney once mentioned we keep moving forward opening new doors and doing new things because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths let these three wonderful years spent in west side middle school academy be a stepping stone and proper foundation for each one of
018us wherever we go for high school and beyond thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity to represent our 8th grade group it is an honor that i'll truly cherish and learn from signing off arush lola [Applause] thank you both you did a great job now i would like to introduce mrs jennifer blue assistant principal to recognize these students [Applause] good afternoon we are proud to present sidney borst and arush lola with the plaques as recognition for your accomplishments [Applause] so dr leblanc is keeping time on me so i have to be very careful to stick to the script however i'm not sticking to the script i just wanted to mention how very very special this class is because you all 8th grade students and i began west side at the exact same time so
019we've been through a lot together and we are here now at this point i'd like you to think back for a moment to when you first started at westside middle school academy many of you were concerned that you would get lost or that you wouldn't be able to handle the homework or wouldn't be able to handle your new friends or make new friends the building looked large compared to your elementary schools yet here you are at the end of eighth grade we learned how to manage your time you've learned how to be creative and how to work in groups to solve problems many of you have earned honor roll or high honor roll status at least once while you were participating in a variety of activities outside of school you have each had your challenges
020and successes as you've moved through your middle school years and now it's time for high school and you are ready the choices you have made and continue to make will determine who you will be i hope that you will choose to make a positive difference in your family school and community as you leave us today the best wishes of all of the faculty and staff at westside middle school academy good luck to you all and now ladies and gentlemen the moment you have been waiting for is finally here the presentation of the west side middle school academy class of 2022 [Applause] the class will be presented by eighth grade teachers mr rovnak miss ferreira and mrs calvida the students will be honored by the administration and eighth grade core academic teachers congratulations [Applause] members of
021the board of education mr walleston dr casemiro mrs truchas mr roach dr labanca and mrs blue having met the requirements of the danbury public school for promotion of the high school it gives me great pleasure to present westside middle school global studies academy of 2022 members of the board of education mr wallston dr casemero mrs truches mr roach dr labanca and mrs blue having met the requirements of danbury public schools for promotion to high school it gives me great pleasure to present the west side middle school stem academy class of 2022 [Applause] they're gonna have to give me their card which takes way over here [Applause] a froze jadrian almante randy aquino chase amoftano anthony arujo katie aquino victor arias yuri zuzana barnowski dylan basirta paulie breto molly bates john benedict bernardo sophia britto morgan
022bleaker ryan bussey sophia blumenrich kade butler sydney borst richard camaragus krish bruska tatum carcar desmond bussmann lucas carneiro jose angela carrillo nicole corvallio yago castro jessica cephaloni kailyn cateket miley chandler isabella confrontini molly klein michaela connelly adriana contreras robert daley [Music] angel during nicole evans nathan gagnovin sarah faiso maria garcia [Music] angie guzman samuel gomcalvis evan hall cassidy hamill makai henry brendan hennessey alexander herzegovich laurie huma ruby hill james drugway vallone jazzy azul javier luca larosa daniel luigo declan keith caroline megadias toby kelly david martens kiera latham aidan mcallister glenn lopez isabella mendez lillian leo benjamin miller janelle marin david miller camille marcus eva [Music] [Applause] harrison muller jesse and mueller malecki nunez brian oliveida daniel oliveira tiffany oliveira gabriela oliveira jeremy palmer jalissa osorio samuel pereira taylor palmavia marcus perez lucas priviati ronald phillip
023sheree pryor monica principal karen quinan jordy priveda mahathir rahman anthony rodriguez yadira ramshi francelli rosario casey rosenberg samantha ruffles leslie sanchez christopher reese jaden santiago samantha samaniego raphael sanchez amelia schweitzer finn scuderi rosie seguenza ivana simkins marx soto freda j stanzioni karina [Music] sophia suarez talmud zachary underhill kieran surrey anthony venezuela hannah talbot keelan avere ordonez dante takali ashar velez calisa todman jackie vila melissa toledo chris vavar charles tucker dan weisman josh valverde and connie c victor velez [Music] bruce vivar john bruce wilcox nicole zelosky zoe eris [Applause] [Music] henry award camilla bellisteros [Music] mia cole logan charis [Music] [Applause] aaliyah cook encore chatterjee [Applause] [Music] isaac de silva preston crawford [Applause] tyler delsey [Applause] daniel de lima victoria flores rivers farstad alicia joss natalie lima arush lola shannon lower [Music] julian mobiglia [Applause] dimitri
024herzogovich ryan navarro james mcelmery kylie nunez jaylene nunez [Music] emily pawnee christopher piccero [Applause] matthew rios [Applause] jordan rosenberg lily beth rosario [Music] rhizaia saunders [Applause] joshua russell [Applause] aditya scene faith cyber [Music] t smith colin sturtevant jessica spazado eriksen vasquez mark valesella jake zunio jaden walker [Music] doris yambay [Applause] i'm saved [Applause] do you let's have a big round of applause for the class of 2022. [Applause] on behalf of the faculty and staff of the west side middle school academy of magnet i want to thank you for joining us for our promotion ceremony to the 8th grade students i wish you good luck in high school best wishes to you and have a fantastic summer okay so just for our housekeeping now that our ceremony is over students you're going to exit down by
025the concession stand that way your exploration teachers will have your certificates you can get them from them parents you're welcome to go out and around that way and meet your child on the side if you like you