Thursday, June 26, 2014

2014 East Greenwich High School Valedictorian, Heather Shen's Graduation Speech

http://openclipart.org/image/300px/svg_to_png/7936/BenBois_Graduation.png
2014 East Greenwich High School Valedictorian, Heather Shen's Graduation Speech


Good afternoon East Greenwich High School teachers and administrators, proud parents, friends, and–of course–the graduating Class of 2014!

I’d like to begin by stating the obvious — we could not be here today without the overwhelming support of our community.  To the teachers, thank you for sharing your passions and your love of learning.  Thank you to our families, and most of all, to our parents for putting up with our antics and getting us to where we are today.  Mom and Dad, thank you for your unconditional support.  Dad, congratulations on surviving not one, but two teenage daughters.  I will always be grateful for your advice and support in my decisions.  Mom, you are my rock.  You are the best cheerleader, chauffeur, coat-holder, and advisor I could have ever asked for.  Ivy, you are more than my sister; you are a role model to ask when I have a question, a best friend to share a laugh with, and a person I aspire to be one day.  Most importantly, thank you Class of 2014 for making these last four years ones that I will always remember.

I am so proud to be a part of East Greenwich’s Class of 2014.  You are some of the most talented, intelligent, and compassionate people I know.  We have authors, athletes, innovators, and entrepreneurs, and I have no doubt that you all will be extremely successful.  Carolyn, when you become  president make sure to stop by!  Brett and Andrew, don’t forget about us when you’re a dynamic duo in the NFL.  Anthony, when you speak fifty different languages, maybe you can help translate this speech for my grandma.  Hi Popo!  Caela, you can bet that I’ll be the first one in line at your book signings. There are no bounds to our success in the future, and whether leaving it all on the field, volunteering on a mission trip, or getting excited about learning something new, you all continually astound and inspire me.

Starting from freshman year, this school always had something to teach me, both inside and outside of the classroom.  I would like to share with all of you a few of the lessons I’ve learned from from being part of the East Greenwich High School Class of 2014:

Lesson one: Pick up your feet.

I learned this the summer of my freshman year.  Over the summer, I had decided to try out for the girls’ tennis team at the high school.  I had only heard horror stories of Mr. Brocato making us run 20 suicides in a row and frankly I was terrified of throwing up on his nice golf shoes.  Tryouts came, my fear was for naught, and by the end of the first day, I was laughing with my friends, skipping through the ladder drills Brock laid out for us.  By the end of the second day, Mr. Brocato caught on to my laziness with the footwork drills and he called me over.  He said, “Heather, that is probably the worst footwork I’ve ever seen.  Pick up your feet.”  Embarrassed and blushing, I went back to the ladder, and you should’ve seen my feet fly.  Over the next four years, our team never skipped the footwork drills again. I guess the ladder drills paid off, because this year, we won the Division I State Championship.

So here’s what I learned from this: We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification, and Instagram, but there is no short cut to success. It takes hard work, tenacity and patience.

Lesson two: Learn as many chemistry puns as possible; they’re great for awkward silences.

So a neutron walks into a bar, and orders a drink.  The bartender says to him, “For you, no charge.”

I came across this lesson during junior year in AP Chemistry with Ms. Schnacky.  I’m sure that anyone who has ever taken that class will tell you that it is simultaneously one of the most difficult but most fun classes East Greenwich has to offer.  Between learning about electron behavior during oxidation-reduction reactions or the difference between an alkane, alkene, and alkyne, my class laughed and joked, read poems about cats and talked about Iron Man.  

I learned from this class two things: the first was the lesson about chemistry puns, and the second about stress and keeping everything in perspective.  When life gets stressful–as it undoubtedly will–force yourself to smile.  Learn to laugh at corny, silly, nerdy things.  Be as incredibly or maybe even as delusionally positive as possible. In the end, I remember and value most the jokes and stories from that class, not just the chemical equations I learned to balance.

It can be a very cynical, stressful place out there in the “real world” and that stress can eat at your energy and your potential. And to fight it, you should smile with every atom in your body.  You should smile first thing in the morning.  Smile with your eyes, your face, your heart, at every living and non-living thing that you see.

Lesson three: #Shenning it.

I joined EGHS Orchestra this year, and something that Mr. Carniaux coined was the phrase, “Shenning it.”  Apparently it means either rushing in an orchestra piece or being awesome; I’m pretty sure that it means the latter.  Whenever I would increase the tempo by too much, Mr. Carniaux would just say #Shenning It until I slowed down.  And while I still don’t completely understand the phrase, I’m beginning to understand that fast and furious is not always the best.

Instead, take a moment.  Pause.  Pausing allows you to take a beat, to take a breath in your life. As everybody else is rushing around us like lunatics, I dare you to do the opposite.

Pause and take the time to find out what’s important to you. Find out what you love, what’s real and true to you — so it can infuse and inform your work and make it your own. Pause and check in with yourself and spend a moment there.  Pause and think of what you want before you go gallivanting off to find it.

When you are busy running through your life–Dare I say “Shenning it?””–you’ll: one, miss out on my fabulous speech, and two, miss out on your favorite moments.  You would miss out on the funny faces Chase Buckley and Becky Scheff make during orchestra class.  You would miss out on singing loudly and badly with Sarah Baker–although most people probably would prefer that.  You would miss out on Courtney Kalk’s great bear hugs, and you would miss out on the sprouting daffodils on Avenger Drive.

I am by no means advocating that you should go through life slowly and aimlessly.  I think it’s great to make goals and think about your future.  Just don’t live there  Go for what you want now because nothing really ever happens in the future.  Whatever happens, happens now, so live your life where the action is.

Last one.  Lesson four.  This was taken from the poem, “If” by Kipling; maybe you’ll remember it from Freshman English: “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it”

East Greenwich Class of 2014, the rate and way the world advances is dependent on us.  They are depending on us for our efforts and our vision.  They are depending on our eyes and imagination to identify what wrongs exist and persist and our hands and our backs to right them.

I have no doubt that our class can make this world better. But to do so, we must be fearless in pursuing what we know is right, bold in speaking for what we believe in, and unafraid in making mistakes.

No one is insisting you all become global politicians or selfless activists. But you can still “fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.”  Spend at least some significant time in the service of all. Of all of us. Of seeing the world clearly and taking part, in some way large or small, in making it better.

You are all probably dying for me to wrap this up, so here’s a summary of my speech in Twitter-form, 140 characters or less: work hard, keep everything in perspective, don’t rush, and live fulfilled #aspire. As we prepare to take our first steps into the “real world,” I know that East Greenwich has prepared us all to step into the world fiercely and fearlessly.

Congratulations East Greenwich High School’s Class of 2014.  We did it!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

2014 Award Recipients (Updated and Corrected)

2014 Awards Night
AWARD NAMERECIPIENTPRESENTER
BOOK AWARDS
Bryant University Book AwardKaley McMullenAnne-Marie Flaherty
Harvard University Book AwardWei LiAnne-Marie Flaherty
Holy Cross Book AwardKatherine LuoAnne-Marie Flaherty
Rhode Island College Alumni Book AwardJon-Erik Hurtubise, Thomas NoceraAnne-Marie Flaherty
Smith College Book AwardCharlotte PalmerAnne-Marie Flaherty
University of Rhode Island Alumni Book AwardJonathan ColavitaAnne-Marie Flaherty
Univ. of Virginia Club Jefferson Book AwardMatthew WegrzynAnne-Marie Flaherty
Wellesley Book AwardAngela HeAnne-Marie Flaherty
Yale University Book AwardMing-Yi WuAnne-Marie Flaherty
DEPARTMENT AWARDS
Art Department AwardCharles BuckleyAmanda Rogers-Merida
Rhode Island School of Design Book AwardStephanie GibadloAmanda Rogers-Merida
W.B. Hunt Photography AwardGrace Adam, Taylor McCannAmanda Rogers-Merida
Physical Education and Health AwardCarolyn Cruise, Christopher SgrignariRobert Downey/Krista Harvey
AMGEN Biotechnology AwardZachary JohnsonNicholas Rath
Science Department AwardRoman DrozdowskiNicholas Rath
Rensselaer MedalMatthew WegrzynNicholas Rath
Computer and Digital Technology AwardLydia WarrenPatricia Page
Financial Capability AwardBen Chester, Andrew Miner, Patrick NortonPatricia Page
Music Department AwardAndrew Miner, Rebecca ScheffBrendan Carniaux
English Department Award Jaclyn Sidman (Jr.), Christopher Luo (Sr.)Karen Izzo
Elaine Moscardi Perspective AwardPaige SmithKaren Izzo
Foreign Language Junior Ambassador AwardsAlexandra FreemanLois Gendreau
Foreign Language Outstanding Seniors AwardFrench: Anthony Bernard-SasgesLois Gendreau
"Latin: Robert LepreLois Gendreau
"Spanish: Courtney KalkLois Gendreau
Mario Regini Social Studies AwardMeredith ReillyTim McPartlin
Pell Medal AwardWei LiTim McPartlin
Frederick Douglass & Susan B. Anthony AwardEli WolfgangTim McPartlin
Math Department AwardAndrew Miner, Heather ShenPatricia Dulac
LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Student Council Leadership AwardRachel Gammons, Taylor McCannNicholas Rath
George Eastman Young Leaders AwardKeira MeiserNicholas Rath
Best Buddies AwardsNicolle Anderson, Kimberly WhittakerFran Healy
and Brandon Eckles
General Treasurer's AwardMatthew WegrzynPatricia Page
Lt. Governors Leadership AwardRachel Gammons Michael Podraza
Secretary of States Civic Leadership AwardGauri Ganesh, Shiv PatelMichael Podraza
2014 U.S. Presidential ScholarsWinner: Heather ShenMichael Podraza
Semifinalist: Michelle Xiong
Introduction for:
ValedictorianHeather Shen, Andrew MinerMichael Podraza, Karen Izzo
Salutatorian
SCHOLARSHIPS
Lindsey Ann Burke Memorial Fund Teen Dating
Violence Awareness Poster ContestMeredith LiuMrs. Ann Burke
National Merit Scholars/FinalistsAndrew Miner, Connor Ross, Heather ShenTim Chace
Nat'l Merit Worcester Polytechnic Inst. ScholarshipConnor RossTim Chace
Jeannine Light Scholarship Carolyn Cruise Tim Chace
Teach It Forward, Univ. of Phoenix ScholarshipLailah KentPatricia Page
East Greenwich Education AssociationAli Marcus, Anthony Bernard-SasgesPatricia Page
East Greenwich Art Club AwardCharles BuckleyMrs. Joyce Neville
RI Youth TheatreKristine SzromMrs. Ann O'Grady
Lesley Mehlman Carpe Diem AwardOlivia WigginsLois Gendreau
RI Assoc. of Chinese Americans Scholarship (RIACA)Heather Shen, Christopher Luo, Jesse ZhanMs. Yan Lindsay Sun
International Brotherwood of Police Union AwardAli Marcus, Anthony Bernard-SasgesSteve Branch, SRO
East Greenwich Rotary ScholarshipsBrandon EcklesDavid Iannucelli
"Topaz Leshin Szewczok
"Robert Lepre
"Kaitlyn-Lee Cloutier
"Thomas Nocera
"Suzanne McGinnis
"Michael Purvis
"Rebecca Scheff
"Ella Myette

Monday, June 9, 2014

One Student's Journey

Passed along from Mr. Brocato- Ali DeCesare's End of Year English Portfolio


Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Student Poem- "The iPhone 6"

Forwarded from Mr. Kenney-
The iPhone 6
by Grace Fitch

They call it a touch screen
But yet you’re touching nothing
You can come into contact with cold glass
Or you can feel the soft green grass

Then you go to Facebook
But when was the last time you faced a book
Soon you get bored of the selfies so you go to Instagram
Look at that beautiful damn #artsy

Next is Twitter
But yet you hear no birds, how bitter
There are all these meaningless comments
That just sounds like nonsense

You need a break so you go to YouTube
But where’s the you in YouTube
When you’re alone starring at a screen
It’s all just an awful scheme

They call this being social
It’s nothing but being immobile
They promised you 500 friends on this media that’s just a labyrinth
For only 100 dollars a month

You wonder when the next iPhone 6 is coming out
As you sit there on the couch
And then your mind clicks
You are the new iPhone 6

You have not smelled
You have not tasted
You have not heard
You have not seen
And you have not felt


There is nothing that separates you from your technology
You’re a new type of sociology
The human that does not feel, how unreal
A robot, a drone created by a phone
As you say, “would you like me to search the web for that?”