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Lakecrest News
| Senior Class Valedictory Address | |
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Below is the Senior Class Valedictory Address written by Alexander Jessome, Valedictorian, Class 2010.
"Mr. White, teachers, special guests, family and friends, students especially my fellow graduates.
I am absolutely honoured and humbled to be standing here representing the graduating class of 2010. On behalf of Emma, Hannah, Noel, Emily, Kathleen and Heather, I would like to thank you all for joining us on this very special occasion in our lives but more importantly I would like to thank each of you for providing us with the support and guidance we needed to be able to get us to this day.
I have been a student of Lakecrest since grade 2. Some of us have never really known the world outside of Lakecrest. For all of us, leaving Lakecrest will be a significant change in our lives. Lakecrest, through its respectful and caring environment, has nurtured us and protected us. But Lakecrest has done more than shield us. It has also given us a sense of self-confidence and strength of character that will prepare us for every change and challenge that life may bring our way. So overall, it is with a great sense of excitement that we are going forward to high school, knowing that thanks to Lakecrest we have a strong foundation to build upon.
Some of us in our graduating class have taken sailing lessons and as I sat to write this speech, I thought about how our journey at Lakecrest has been similar to sailing a boat. It takes incredible team work, dedication and hard work to keep the boat upright and on course. Every person on the boat has an important role to ensure the safe completion of the journey. There could be no better crew than the one I have had the privilege to sail with on our Lakecrest journey. We have had the advantage at Lakecrest of being part of an international crew – we have been educated alongside people who originated from many different places around the world. Together we learned to respect our differences and celebrate our shared accomplishments.
A very important component of our crew was our teachers. Without them we would be rudderless. They are the people who always knew the destination we were on was far more than just what our books could teach us. They taught us that we can’t change the wind but we can always adjust our sails. Their ingenuity in teaching us never ceased to amaze me! Who will ever forget, for example, grade 7 social studies with Mr. Young? He taught us about war by staging one. We proceeded to Victoria Park and had an all out war with bean bags! We have had the benefit of great teachers throughout all our years at Lakecrest. Today I would like to say a special thank-you to our grade 9 teachers. Mrs. Mouseau – you have gone far beyond the call of duty. Thank you for your patience and dedication to all of us – and for always making science lab entertaining! Ms. Carroll, you are obviously a very well rounded person. We have had fantastic gym classes with you this year and learned a lot in Language Arts along the way too. Thank-you! Ms Warren, you have taught us a lot of music over the years and how music always leads to smoother sailing in life. We really appreciate your efforts in putting off such great musical productions for the school – especially this year’s musical of Alice in Wonderland which featured Hannah, Heather and Emma. Ms Reid, you only taught us one year but you made French classes very interesting. Thank-you. Ms. Dove-Major – what can I say - you are a brilliant math teacher!
In addition to our superb teachers, we have been guided along our journey by Mrs. Gillingham. She is an integral member of the crew – one that wears many hats. She is the smiling face that greeted us each morning and the gentle hand that bandaged our scraped knees but she is also like the boat’s engineer – without her the whole vessel would fall apart.
Then there is Mr. Pellerin and Mr. White – who have been at the helm of the boat throughout our journey. Nobody could steer this school, or us, better than them. There were times I am sure that they both wanted to throw me overboard, but I am happy they didn’t! Thank you both for all you have done to help all of us become who we are today.
And then there are our parents and families. People in Newfoundland know all too well that every time a boat leaves a safe harbour and sails out to sea, on the shore watching over them are the people who love them. They are the people who have prepared them for their journey and will pray for them during their voyage. Thank you does not seem to be enough to say to our parents. You had the foresight to know that Lakecrest would provide us with the best possible education and you gave us that incredible opportunity. Thank you for booking us a passage on this great ship and thank you for watching over us every step of the way. You were dedicated to making sure we got to our destination safely and on time. They also made sure our homework was done on time. For me that was no small task – in fact, I think that was the biggest job my Mom had in the past 3 years – and that’s saying something! Lakecrest parents are incredibly involved with every nautical mile. Whether it is making costumes for our plays, serving our lunches, or serving on the Board of Directors – they give countless volunteer hours to making sure this ship runs smoothly.
While we have received a world class education at Lakecrest, we have learned far more than our advanced academic program. We have been taught that true education includes, becoming leaders in our community and giving back to the community. During our senior year, we were involved in several projects to help those less fortunate than us. I had the privilege this year, along with Heather, the president of our student council, and Emma, the vice-president, of delivering food hampers at Christmas time to a less fortunate family. We also donated money to the food bank and raised money to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation. All of our efforts were a great success and wonderful learning opportunities for us.
We have also, however, had a lot of fun together on the voyage and I cannot end without saying something to the most important people in the room today – my fellow graduates. Who will ever forget the laughs we had on our overnight Duke of Edinburgh hike? We have grown up together – we have gone from being the little kids who were scared on the Halloween Journey of Terror to the big kids who enjoyed being the ones doing the terrifying acts. Yes – we certainly have matured! While along the voyage there were times when we might not have been the most unified crew, as we stand together today, we realize that there are no tighter shipmates. We will always have each other’s back and be there for each other. So Heather, Noel, Hannah, Emily, Kathleen and Emma, as we pull up our anchor from Lakecrest and set adrift on unchartered waters, I am confident that no matter how rough the seas may get, we will succeed because we have been well equipped. We have formed friendships that will last through any turbulent water and we have really gotten our sea legs.
In concluding, let’s reflect upon the words of Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Thank you.
By: lwhite | |
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