Oct 2000
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Sharbot Lake High School - A CommencementBy David BrisonA standing room only crowd showed up Friday night to help year 2000 graduates celebrate their departure from SLHS and their entry into the world of work and study.
SLHS teachers, who are not now participating in other extra-curricular activities, did their part to make the evening a success for a graduating class that many speakers described as remarkable, because of their group cohesion, their willingness to help each other, and their over-all school spirit.
Barry O'Connor, the Director of Education whose first position as principal was in Sharbot Lake, urged the students to: "Look fear in the eye ...: do that which you think you can't do...; believe in yourselves and move forward and accept the challenges as they come."
A distinctive feature of SLHS commencements is the total number of awards given to graduates. There were 48 awards given - for academic excellence, athletic achievements, citizenship, and for outstanding contributions in special areas, such as the $1000 Lothlorien Woodworking award, given this year to Tyler Hannah for excellence in woodworking and mathematics.
Kristin Giller, Miranda Tallon, and Sarah Ennis were amongst the repeat
visitors to the stage to receive awards. Kristin received the Governor
General's Academic Medal Award for the highest academic standing in her
class. Miranda received the J.R. Simonett Trophy for the best
combination of leadership, athletics, and scholarship. Sarah was
designated Writer of the Year, and also received the Kingston Regional
Arts Council Award for excellence in the arts.
The
Valedictory Address was given by Kristin Giller. Kristin said that she
wanted to use her address as an opportunity, "To say goodbye - not only
to Sharbot Lake High School, but to an important stage in our lives."
Given the "present circumstances of political unrest", she thanked the SLHS staff for:
* "For giving up your lunch hours and even your Christmas holidays to help with our school work;
* for staying after school every day of the week to oversee athletics, clubs, musical productions...;
* for making classes interesting;
* for organizing field trips;
* ... and for caring for us as you have from day one."
After reminiscing about her class's days at school and recognizing the
contributions of peers and parents, Kristin concluded with the quote,
"there is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets
the future in".
She went on to say, "... we have reached that moment. Tonight we leave
behind the security of our childhoods and enter a world of unknowns.
Although this is both exciting and frightening, I have confidence that
the education and upbringing that we've had ... have truly prepared us
for whatever the future may bring."
