Baccalaureate Ceremony

Today kicked off the graduation festivities.  You practiced going across the stage, enjoyed looking at the "Stage Right" which means as you are standing on stage and looking out at the audience you are on the right side.  (Or tell your parents that as they are walking into the ceremony, they will want to find a seat on the left side so that they can have the best view of you marching in and receiving your diploma.)  Trust me, your parents will not be happy if they end up being on the "wrong" side and don't have a good view of your special day! Also, please remember that if you still haven't taken your cap and gown out of the plastic bag, you should definitely do this!  You will need to iron your gown to make sure that it looks nice before the graduation ceremony.
mixture of cute and awkward school pictures in your folder, and enjoyed your first day of freedom from high school classes.  Don't forget that it is important to remind your parents which side of the stage you will sitting on during the commencement ceremony.  As a general rule, assuming you are one of my students, you will be on

Many of you also attended tonight's baccalaureate ceremony.  My heart is absolutely overflowing after baccalaureate.  I love this event each year as it truly highlights the personality and talents of each graduating class and this year was no exception.  Baccalaureate is sponsored by the Activity Club, a group of parents who are dedicated to supporting our schools and community.  They worked with a committee of students to plan tonight's event and many of the individuals involved are "my" students or parents of my students including the chairs of Baccalaureate, Dina Biglin (mom of Grayson) and Diane Souder (mom of Justin) along with the co-chair Ellen Baxter (mom of Ryan) and the student planning committee included Tanner Atha, Amelia Boudinot, Addy Boyles, Erin Dieringer, Michelle Ding, Jared Elliott, and Lauren Hedges.  Thank you all for your hard work, time and dedication in putting together such a meaningful ceremony.

During the ceremony Addy and Lauren provided the welcome and closing and their parents along with several other parents served as the parent speakers by showcasing their own version of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by creating a book about the transformation of the Kilbourne seniors.  It was funny, touching, and incredibly well done!  Because the parents had asked me for some input about the types of things we often heard from your class over the past four years, Mrs. Hedges even surprised me with my own copy of the book and artwork.  Truthfully, I was very embarrassed to be called to the stage - especially when I only have 1/4 of the seniors, but it also meant SO much to me that they thought enough of me to want to give me a copy of the book.  And it is BEAUTIFUL!  The artwork and story are awesome!  Thank you to Mrs. Hedges and Mrs. Boyles for the book.  I will cherish it and I can't thank you enough!

In addition to the speakers, there was a lot of beautiful music and award recognitions.  Bryn Caswell was honored as an Activity Club Scholarship recipient.  Addy Boyles, Mike Coen, Gabrielle Dendinger, and Lydia DeWeese were all honored for their role as student coordinators of Wolves for Cubs and they, in turn, recognized all of the seniors who served as Wolves for Cubs this year.

And last, but certainly not least, Amelia Boudinot spoke to share a beautiful tribute to Luke Bender while his pictures flashed across the screens.  Amelia also produced the senior photo slideshow which featured baby and senior pictures of a huge number of students from the senior class.  The photo slideshow was set to music which was coordinated by Tanner Atha.  It was so fun to watch the slideshow and think about how much you have all grown and changed - not only from when you were babies, but even over the course of your high school careers.

Tonight was a special night and a great kick-off to the incredible weekend ahead!  Congratulations seniors!  Try to really soak all of this in and appreciate the significance of the moments as they arise.  You have such bright futures ahead!