Sacred Heart School Valedictory Address
Omi Sakamoto
Hello and welcome class of 2020! First of all, I would just like to thank everyone for coming to this memorable occasion for us graduates. I’m sure that all of you like myself wish that we could’ve finished this school year with our fellow classmates, rather than in bed, or running all over town trying to find toilet paper for the past few months. You would think everyone would be buying out the medicine instead of the toilet paper, but no…. You would look in the toilet paper aisle, and there would be nothing there, but in the medicine aisle, the shelves are fully stocked! Insanity. Anyways, before I get on with my speech, I would like to thank all my talented teachers, my loving parents who were always with me through my whole life, and my friends who believed in me even when I didn’t. Thank you all for getting me where I am today!
When we first started at school, we all had no idea that the next 10 years would bring so many memories. We made our first friends that WE got to choose, not our parents. We had our first taste of freedom, and as we got older, we accumulated even more freedom. Classmates left, classmates arrived, and some returned. And then grade 2 and 3, oh, those were some fun years. On the playground when the girls would look to see that the boys were “spying on us”, so we stood up and chased them ALL OVER the school yard. And then when we grew out of that little game, we would all play cops and robbers.
Then, in grade 4, we went outside with the “big kids”! I was so proud that I got to go outside with them, even though we all stayed our distance from them. That was when we weren’t just “the little kids”. But growing up comes with change. Grade 5 and 6 were life changing years for me, as I’m sure they were for others. The "yucky boys” turned into the “omg, you like him?! You guys should date. boys”. Your appearance was suddenly your top priority, and you judged yourself and others on their appearance. But, I guess that’s what happens to everyone when they get older? It was those years too that we got those really scary presentations in front of the whole class. Scared out of your wits, hoping that maybe the teacher didn’t actually call your name to present first?!
I remember in Grade 5 when a lot of my friends were in the other class, I met new people, we drew on the boards, circled it, and wrote “DONUT TOUCH!!” In all caps. Then in Grade 6, one of my friends joined wrestling with me, and she ended up breaking her leg!… Taylor. Speed to Grade 7, and suddenly a bunch of people were feeding the imaginary armadillo on the side door of the portable. The armadillo got some food, mostly goldfish, every day. Then in the other portable, the fictional guy who lived in the roof. We tried to throw a Birthday Party for him, but it was actually going to be something else…
As the last 10 years at SHS come to an end, I’m sure that everyone has funny, sad, and very memorable memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Again, thank you all of our teachers, parents, and friends. Thank you and have a good rest of 2020! See you in the new school year, if there is one.