Moving On Ceremony Speeches

Hello, my name is Chloe Hart. I first joined LMS in YPC  at the age of two. I am now twelve and am going into seventh grade. I've been mentally writing my graduation speech since first grade, but after six amazing years, I’m at a loss for words.

Today I’ll begin with a quote by Satya Nani, “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” What this quote means to me is that even though  something may seem like it's far away, in reality, it's actually sooner than you think. So start now and you’ll feel a lot better later. As Katherine says, “Be a friend to your future self.” Even with this bit of information, it’s still important that you remember to focus on the present; you can’t change the past, just the future, and that starts now.

I can relate to this quote; Katerina and I weren't the best of friends and didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but at the graduation party last year we were hanging out, and realized we were not as different as we thought. Now we are pretty close. It shows that one little encounter can change your entire relationship.

Some things that I really love about LMS are field day, hanging out with friends at school, and Mudville.  Sandrine and I built a house from scratch with sticks, bark, and hay bales that would keep you mostly dry. It is so sturdy that it can hold two people on the roof. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was still standing in five years. Another favorite memory of mine began in fifth grade and that is Spaquaman. As many of you know, I am Spaquaman after Leo thought he was Aquaman and I realized Leo can’t be Aquaman, because I am. Yes, that does make sense if you think about it. I would also glue paper to my hand and make the Spiderman symbol. Because of gravity and my amazing Spider Skills, the paper would fall and make the illusion of webs. Not that good of an illusion, but it was still fun. And if you haven’t already figured it out on your own, if you put Spiderman and Aquaman together, it makes Spaquaman. Therefore, I am Spaquaman.  

One of my favorite works was Imaginary Island, but I had so many ideas that I got overwhelmed. I created a backstory for each of the ten islands. So for each category such as housing, language, government, food, etc. where I should have done one, I would do ten. After doing this for a long time, I decided to focus on one of the ten islands and its backstory. I learned from that to focus on one thing at a time, so that I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. I ended up focusing on Gnome Island, which I think was spectacular and the right decision for me.

A  funny story that happened in Lower El on Grail’s birthday was when Sammi was still a student here. Sammi and I were assigned the role of distractors. So while everyone was lining up, we were both hopping on one foot pretending to fight (six-year old quality acting). We both took off one shoe and gave it to the other. We were saying things such as, “Give me back my shoe,” “No, you give me back my shoe.” Grail saw that we weren’t in line, so she came over and talked about the importance of kindness, how silly this fight was, and how close we were as friends. She was talking about why we should give each other back our shoes. Grail’s peace talk wasn’t long enough, so we had to drag it out while the others were hiding. Finally someone peeked in the window and they gave us a thumbs up, so that we could stop and come in. We just stopped suddenly and said, “ Oh, here’s your shoe!” and went inside. Grail had no idea, but we were all happy that we had surprised her.

I have a lot of people to thank so this might take a while. 

I’d like to start off by thanking Gloria for making the challenge of learning a new language exciting.

Thank you Ed for all the adventures; we’ll miss you.

Thank you Debby; even though you’re not teaching at LMS anymore I feel like you were too important in my life to be forgotten after retirement.

Thank you Monika, for not only being an amazing teacher in the classroom, but also for being the very best art teacher. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.

Thank you, Grail for preparing me for the challenges in life and creating a fun environment of learning.

Thank you, Rachel, for teaching me the necessary skills of life.

Thank you, Ms. Molly and Ms. Jen; even though you weren’t my teachers, you made an impact on my day to day life. You are both wonderful people and I’m going to miss my time with you.

Thank you Kate for all those fun science lessons.

Thank you Katherine for all the comic relief, such as when you tell us, “Come On Down!” as if we were in Price Is Right.

Thank you Mom for teaching me the difference between right and wrong. Thank you Dad for eating Klondike bars with me while we watch Stranger Things for the seventh time after a hard day. Thank you, Grandma for teaching me how to read when I thought all hope was lost.

Thank you, Nana for everything you do for me on a daily basis; you are the kindest person I know. Thank you, Papa for throwing the ball with me for Daisy; you're an amazing grandfather and an even better doggy father. 

Thank you, Julia for being the best sister you could be as a teenager. Thank you, Uncle Carl and Anti Ryann for always being nice to me. Thank you, Violet for being someone I can rely on to talk to.

Thank you little Carl,you're the nicest teenager I know.

Thank you Bunny for being there for me since preschool.

Thank you Sandrine,I've spent so much time with you I hope you’ve rubbed off on me.

Thank you Madigan I’m going to miss our friendly banter.

Thank you Ren,you're a ray of sunshine that brightens my day every time I see you.

Thank you Little Mimi for trying to teach me to cartwheel.

Thank you Christopher,for finally untucking your shirt.

Thank you Teagan, you are such a sweet person and I’m going to miss your hugs.

Thank you Leo,I’m looking forward to your good advice about my new school.  

Thank you Katerina,you’ve made me laugh more times than I can count. I know moving on to a new school is hard, it’s going to be hard for me too. But once you’re there, I’m sure you will be just fine and that will seem like home to you too. 

For the people that are staying at LMS, here’s a bit of advice, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. If you’re having a hard time, it’s not going to last forever. You have to be strong through it, and then you will move past  it. Thank you everyone who's been a part of my life even if I don’t remember some memories now, I know I will look to them in the future. Thank you.