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Ask the Superintendent - June 28, 2006
On Friday evening June 23rd, under ever darkening
skies and the threat of heavy rain, the 114th class
graduated from Goshen High School. Even the
possibility of rain could not detract from a
ceremony that, because of the venue, has become a
community event. Graduation at the Historic Track is
equivalent to holding graduation on the Village
Green in any small town across this wonderful
country of ours. It truly could not be more
community oriented, or for that matter, more
American. We are fortunate to have the use of such a
beautiful facility and to enjoy the support of our
community.
The assembled guests, relatives of the graduates, as
well as the many who attended from the community
were treated to music selections by an accomplished
band and an outstanding chorus. The ceremony moved
beautifully with carefully crafted messages from the
six honor graduates and a well-orchestrated
distribution of diplomas to the 204 graduates.
This is an opportune time to highlight many of the
accomplishments of the Class of 2006. These
graduates are very bright, self-directed, and
compassionate young men and women. An abbreviated
look at this Class will show:
• 41 Members of the National Honor Society
• 3 Members of the National Vocational Technical
Honor Society
• 29 Members of the Foreign Language Honor Society
• 2 Eagle Scouts
• 3 Girl Scout Gold Award Winners
• 1 Merit Scholarship Commended Student
• 2 Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists
• 4 students who received Academic Recognition at
the C-Tech Graduation
• Orange County Mock Trail winners for three years
• Science Olympiad State Champions and Academic
League Winners
• Athletes who have proudly worn Goshen’s colors on
the fields, mountains, on the courts, on the golf
courses, and in the gymnasiums, competing in League,
County, Sectional and New York State competitions
• Talented musicians, singers, actors and dancers
including a record number of students recognized in
All-County and Area All-State performances (and who
could forget their performance in the Spring
Musical, “42nd Street”)
• Accomplished artisans and craftsmen including
winners of the New York State Olympics of the Visual
Arts Competition
This is also an unselfish class made up of
individuals who have dedicated thousands of hours of
volunteer service tutoring other students in three
of our schools. They have also worked long hours on
Saturdays at Habitat for Humanity and weekends and
evenings at Homes for the Elderly and Homes for
Battered Women. Many class members serve in our
three Goshen Fire Companies, the Florida Fire
Department, and GOVAK. When Katrina and the Tsunami
disasters occurred, members of the Class of 2006
were there to raise money for the people in need.
One graduating senior even served as the Student
Liaison on the Board of Education his entire senior
year.
This is a class that has worked exceptionally hard,
with ever-increasing local and state demands, to
complete their graduation requirements. From the
ranks of this class:
• 85% received Regents Diplomas
• 91% will attend 2- or 4-year colleges to further
their education
• 2 students will be entering the armed forces – one
to The United States Military Academy at West Point
and one to the United States Marine Corps
• 8% have decided to seek employment opportunities
In addition to the seventy-eight scholarships that
were awarded during the Commencement Ceremony, the
program also included some of the various
achievements, honors and recognitions that were
presented during this past school year within the
community, at Academic Awards Night and at Class
Day. The sum total of these awards and other
college-based scholarships, factored over four
years, is now in the millions of dollars.
The ceremony, from Processional to Recessional, took
exactly two hours and the threat of looming clouds
could not detract from the spirit of the evening.
Almost on cue, within twenty minutes of graduation’s
end, it began to rain.
On behalf of the Board of Education and the Central
Office Administration, I extend to the Class of 2006
heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for future
success and happiness.
Due to the upcoming July 4th weekend, my column will
not appear in the July 5th issue of The Goshen
Independent. The column will return July 12th. Have
a wonderful Fourth of July and please don’t forget
Great American Weekend.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools
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