John G. Leach School Graduation
Commencement Address
Boyd Holmes
May 31st, 2007
Thank you, Mr. Jadach and
thank you to the Graduation committee for this gracious honor , for the
opportunity to address the 2007 graduating class of the
And what a graduating class it
is :
Shantel Ashley and Davy Myers.
And thank you, Jack, for that
wonderful introduction. As I’ve
shared with you before, Jack, I’ll share with everyone here today,
Yes, I have had the great
fortune of making music in many different places and ways,
Yes, I was lucky enough to
have my compositions played around the world in television programs,
Yes, I’ve been fortunate
enough to perform in front of hundreds of people, but nothing even begins to
compare with making music with the students of the
These children are among the
best, among the bravest students in the
These are students who refused
to be dissed by the dis in disability,
students who have proven many
of the so called experts wrong,
students who work harder for
their achievements than many of us ever will have to.
These students, our students,
define courage.
Just as the
the teachers, the paras, the
nurses, custodians, therapists and , yes, even their administrators
- all of us are inspired by our students.
Why?
Because our students believe
in
the realistic achievement of
all of their dreams.
And I for one am proud to be
part of that team.
So today, this great school
celebrates two of it’s own.
Two students who have
completed years of rigorous school work.
Two
. . . who have made a
difference in the lives of all of us.
Two students whose special
gifts to this school will be remembered for many years.
Those two student’s
. . .
Shantel Ashley and Davy Myers.
A few words about Shantel.
How do you describe an angel
on earth. Because that’s what Shantel is – an angel on earth.
Now, I’m Shantel’s music teacher and I could tell you right off but
I’d rather direct the question to the paraprofessionals of Room 12 . . . Does
Shantel have a song she shares with all of us?
Shantel has a song that
radiates throughout the entire school. She
starts singing from the first moment of music class till the last – and even a
little bit more, if ‘m not wrong, correct Miss Cherri?
Shantel’s song is a personal song, one that resembles vocalize, or jazz
scat singing, rather than strict prose or lyrics.
She loves to start music class
with a rousing Hello song followed by more up-tempo material.
By 30 minutes into the class,
she begins to run a little low on steam – after all she’s been sing full
tilt for a half an hour.
She usually catches a second
wind and finishes strong with a smile filled “So Long” song.
And the way she works with our
paras!
Could I please have all the
paraprofessionals in room 12 stand to be recognized?
Miss Vickie with the
tambourine on Shantel’s shoulder,
Miss Brenda with the small
drum on her finger tips,
everybody gets in the act with
Shantel.
Why?
Because people like to be
around her.
All the paras come together,
helping Shantel create a syncopated symphony of rhythm that is distinctly her
own.
I remember meeting an older
person on a gig. They came up to me
saying they wished they could sing but never tried.
So
many go through life just as this person did.
And here we have Shantel,
a vocalist supreme,
a role model to all those who
wonder if they should try to sing.
Trust
Shantel.
She says, “Sing”
. . . For Shantel, love is
the shortest distance between two notes.
As Oscar Hammerstein once
wrote,
“A
bell's not a bell 'til you ring it
A
song's not a song 'til you sing it
Love
in your heart wasn't put there to stay
Love
isn't love 'til you give it away!”
Shantel
is living proof of that love.
If Shantel is the embodiment
of love being the shortest distance between two notes, than Davy Meyers is
living proof that laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
You’ve heard of soap on a
rope . . . Davy is joke on a rope.
Davy spreads his cheer from
one end of the school to the other. It
is impossible to be around Davy here at school and not feel some kind of
happiness.
And it’s not always the
innocent kind of laughter, either.
I have to admit that
sometimes, Davy takes a bit of joy in the misfortunes of his class mates when
they get in trouble.
Even more so, he falls to
pieces whenever I break a guitar string and cut loose with a PG litany of
exasperation.
And then there is Davy and
this lady who works in the front hall way. I’m
not going to mention any names . . . he lives to see this woman every morning,
delivering the attendance.
And she dotes on him, just
like the star student he is.
As with Shantel, I am Davy’s
music teacher. Davy is deeply
attuned to the three b’s of the classics:
not
Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms . . . . .
but the Beatles,
Bowie, and Chuck Berry.
Hail, hail, rock and roll.
Davy is our classic rock
expert, with finely developed taste for music that came out of the sixties.
I think his Dad might have
something to do about that.
After this is all over, Davy
and I are going to kick back and play a little “Blackbird” for ourselves.
It hasn’t been all songs and
laughter.
There has been some pain and
suffering along the way.
All
families endure illness, sickness, tough times . . . the fear of new schools
. . . new equipment . . . new demands.
These students and their
families held it together, faced uncertain futures, and they did it with
understanding, love, and
patience.
These families have had two
steadfast stewards this year who believe in them.
Would you please recognize the
Teachers of Room 12, Miss Cheri and Miss Sara, along with their full classroom
team.
I have had the opportunity to
talk with Davy’s dad several times over the years.
While he talked of his love
for Davy, he talked of his fears, of the weariness he sometimes felt, trying to
make everything work.
His feelings are common to
many of the families at Leach school. Dr.
Meany, I know you expect all of us here at Leach to be the experts, to have best
practice down pat . . . but when we sit and talk as teachers and staff in this
school,
the one thing we never really
understand is just how these families manage to do what they do.
Just as we honor Davy and
Shantel with their graduation,
we also salute and honor the
people at home whose daily efforts have been focused on the well being, care,
and encouragement of these graduates, .
. .
I’m speaking of the parents
and guardians of these fine students.
So one child has brought us
laughter and one child has brought us song.
And one special day has
brought this community together, to celebrate their triumphs.
Irving Berlin once penned,
“The song is ended but the
melody lingers on
You and the song are gone
But the melody lingers on.”
Davy and Shantel, know that by
leaving these doors today as graduates of the
the melody does linger on.
You leave behind many friends.
And remember, a friend is just
someone who knows the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.
We only ask that today,
as you and your families go
through those doors ,
you go with the trust that we
will shepherd the dreams that you’ve inspired in us,
that we will keep those dreams
alive and support one another and use them to inspire
new students and their families.
Know that we hope you will
come back to visit,
and that you will share your
song . . .
your
laughter, with the next generation of Leach students and staff,
So, Davy and Shantel,
Thank you for all you have
shared and given to
And to your families,
Thank you for choosing
Colonial
And thank you for choosing
Leach
And to all of you,
Thank you for choosing
academic achievement and for dreaming big
And thank you for having me
here today.