Page 10 - Sanger Herald 6-13-19 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 2B • THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019
Fairmont students prepare for that next big step into high school
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Kylah Guzman embraced classmate Lily Cameron after their promotion ceremony at Fairmont Elementary School ended.
Others did the same across the well groomed grounds as staff and volunteers started stacking the chairs in the outdoor space that had been transformed yet again into a temporary amphitheater with the Sierra as a backdrop and farm fields for miles, providing a quiet barrier to the sounds of civilization. Friends and relations of the 74 students heading to high school milled about, taking pictures, talking of the future and generally basking in the moment.
Cameron, student body
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Lily Cameron, left, and Kylah Guzman share a hug.
president, explained some of her feelings in her address that night. “In a little less than three months, my fellow students and I will attend our first day in high school,” she said, pausing.
“And I’m not ready.”
Transitions are tough. But as older folks know, life goes on. And as principal Jared Savage clearly explained in his comments, this class of 2019 Spartans is perhaps among the best suited to go out and make its mark economically and socially on society.
In other words, Fairmont kids are ready.
“Just listen to this lineup,” Savage said prior to reeling off an extensive list of accomplishments that included everything athletics and cattle roping to world class academics.
“Engineering is male dominated,” Savage said at one point. “Fairmont is in the process of changing that.”
The event took place on June 6, the anniversary of D-Day in 1944 when allied troops stormed the beaches
of Normandy to preserve the free world. One man in the audience wore a shirt that proudly proclaimed the connection, likely sparking the reason for my mentioning it in this story.
Those soldiers fought for future generations epitomized by the likes of Cameron and Guzman, young people with bright futures and a desire to excel at whatever they choose to do.
“What matters most is how we respond to life’s adversity and challenges,” Savage said.
The school’s four valedictorians — Zack Davis, Serenity Vang, Leah Tillotson and Jason Poole — also addressed their fellow students and the audience.
“At this school I’ve founds some of the best people I’ve known,” Davis
said. “The teachers here really care. It’s amazing how they make a personal connection.
“The spirit of Fairmont will forever be with us.”
Vang said there were times when she lost focus, but teachers and family provided the help and guidance she needed. “I’ve overcome many obstacles,” she said, adding that she persevered. “We’ve worked extremely hard to get where we are today. Every second, every minute, every hour counts.”
Tillotson said she arrived at Fairmont in the sixth grade, wondering if she could find someone to talk to. She did, she said. And that led to many experiences over the subsequent several years. “I learned to invest in my school work,” she said.
“For me this meant endless hours of dedication.”
Poole quoted Abraham Lincoln. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm,” he said. And he also talked about how even at their age, he and his classmates have lived through dramatic social change. Then he expressed a little dry Poole humor mentioning Baby Shark.
“This class has many great accomplishments,” Poole said.
Cameron said she will do her best to support others. “If I see something that needs to be fixed, I’ll go out and fix it,” she said as people began to leave after the ceremony. And of her classmates she said, “I absolutely adore them. They’re so bright.”
Hallmark graduates take on the world
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Jake Harrell and Jalen Cropper stood in the shadows of the massive backstage area of the Saroyan Theatre.
Both were graduating from Hallmark Charter School on June 8 with 41 other classmates. Everybody had their gowns on and their mortarboards perfectly positioned on their heads. They were about to queue up to head over for the class of 2019’s official group portrait in the theater’s brightly lit gathering area.
Harrell said he’d been backstage before, for his eighth-grade promotion four years earlier.
Hallmark director Alfred Sanchez and his staff made sure everything was perfect — from the mood of their students to the minute-by-minute schedule that included multiple speeches and performances that evening in a quiet downtown Fresno.
“Some outstanding kids,” Sanchez said, taking a breather. “Just great human beings.”
Harrell heads to Fresno State to play baseball. Cropper joins Bulldogs football. And volleyball standout Mackenzie Jennings will play for California State University San Marcos, the Cougars.
Jennings explained a little of her reasoning for choosing San Marcos. “I visited other schools,” she said. “And I never felt at home. The moment
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Tess Travis, center, sits amongst her fellow Hallmark Charter School graduates on June 8 in the Saroyan Theatre.
all the best in your future failures,” he said.
In his address Micah Roberts quoted Martin Luther King Jr. on the importance of moving forward. “Each one of us has a unique story of how we got to Hallmark,” he said.
Roberts attended since first grade. “I will continue to stay in touch because that’s what family members do,” he said. “There are many unknowns we will face.”
Lauren Parisi played the trombone. Joshua Robbins sang a broadway tune. The 12th grade ensemble played “Ain’t Misbehavin."
Matthew Mongomery, in his address, said he hated speeches. “If you can’t embrace change, give it a hug every once in a while,” he said. Mongomery said he doesn’t like change and mentioned he has eaten toast and chocolate milk for breakfast every day for years.
Bailee Poole, in her address, quoted a teacher. “Your happiness means very little to me,” she said, explaining the intent to mean that teachers expect the best.
“I’m confident the unique qualities at Hallmark have prepared us for the future,” she said. Poole, a water polo player for the Apaches, plans to attend Fresno Pacific University. “We are now high school graduates with no reputation, no past, only the future to look forward to.”
Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Flush with certificates from their eighth-grade promotion and done with all the pomp and seriousness of the ceremony, Sanger Academy Charter School students paused their congratulatory hugs and cheers.
They broke into a surprisingly harmonic version of “Happy Birthday” for classmate Michael Sotelo. Perhaps it’s worth noting — as principal Mark Coleman did several times during his truncated remarks — that Sanger Academy is a visual and performing arts
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Michael Sotelo, right, leaves the stage with his certificate.
school. Most of the class performed in choir, played instruments or took part in the robust drama program.
Sotelo took it in stride. He said he had no inkling of embarrassment.
“Because I know everybody,” he said.
Many of the students had attended the school since kindergarten and formed fast friendships. The promoting class of 2019 featured 60 students, all likely quite familiar with personal details like birth dates.
Campbell said they’re also a bunch of high achievers, not only in the arts but in the school’s various athletics programs, some of which reached pinnacles of success this year. “You’ve done a great job so far,” Campbell said, addressing his departing eighth-graders. “Keep it up please.”
Jesus Jimenez gave the welcome speech in Spanish,
opposite Alyssa Avalos, who gave an address in English. Asked for a summation of his speech, Jimenez, whose pre-event nervousness appeared completely gone, said, “Everyone has a place
in my heart.”
Avalos’ remarks also
indicated affection for those she attended classes with. “It’s a bittersweet moment as I think of all the memories,” she said in her address. “And now we’re here.
“We’ve grown up together. Amazing all the bonds we’ve created. Our friendships won’t stop here.” And Avalos closed with a shout-out to parents. “Without your support and
love I don’t know where I’d be.”
Giving valedictory addresses were Esha Ball, Aleena Hardin and Gianna Vasquez. “Sad to say that it’s come to an end,” Ball said, also referencing late nights doing homework and help from parents.
Hardin mentioned that she had been at the school all nine years, her entire education. “Sanger Academy has given me a strong foundation,” she said. “I will always cherish my friendships and memories. We have truly accomplished a lot.”
Vasquez said standing at the podium “is like a dream. I’ve had many good
memories here.” And she added, “Classmates are like family. Home is where the heart is.”
There’s a saying that has to do with the Sanger Academy mascot. It’s one that Sebastian “C-Bass” Oliva agreed with when helping coach young Sanger Academy wrestlers at the recent Navo Classic: “Once a Bear, always a Bear.”
Campbell mentioned it when he invited his promoting students to return anytime. “I’m proud of you,” he said. “Once a Bear, always a Bear. But make sure you check in at the office before you visit.”
I met the coach (Andrea Leonard), I felt at home.”
Jennings said she immediately made connections with her new teammates and enjoyed their company. “When I think of everything I wanted in a school program, that was it. Smaller campus.”
And that jibed with what she’s been familiar with having attended Hallmark, she said.
Tess Travis found herself at the back of the line as she and her fellow Hallmark seniors headed into the theater to walk down either
side of the auditorium and up onto the stage. She said Hallmark isn’t like normal high school. The charter school on Ninth Street in Sanger has classrooms and teachers but allows students greater flexibility in scheduling.
“It’s family,” Travis said. “Teachers, you can tell. People here really love what they do.”
Travis said she wants to be a psychologist, specializing in treating teens and young adults. “To help people,” she said. “I went through a tough time. I want to do what people
couldn’t do for me.”
Amy Tarazon was next
to last and just in front of Travis. As the students in front of them disappeared into the auditorium for the ceremony, she began to show hesitation. But she wasn’t scared. “I’m nervous about falling,” she said. She and the rest of the class had to navigate numerous stairs and an downward grade, and Tarazon wore some pretty high heels.
Dylan Reimer, one of the tennis players who contributed to two section championships for the Apaches, spoke to his class
about hard work and the importance of getting it right after first getting it wrong. “I’ve had my own experience with failure,” he said. He said sometimes he wanted to quit. But he didn’t.
He kept up with his music, learning jazz arrangements. He said the genre’s treatment of notes “seems impossible” but works. “Jazz is not about following the rules,” he said. “It challenges our definition of right and wrong.”
And Reimer ended with this comment. “I wish you
Sanger Academy's promoting class knows they're always Bears