Payton Rochon
Valedictorian
Cobden District public School
If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you.
If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.
Now is the time for us to shine, the time when our dreams are in reach and possibilities, vast.
Now is the time for all of us to become the people we always dreamed of being.
This is our world,
We are here,
We matter,
Our world awaits.
Good Evening parents, grandparents, teachers and Graduating Class of 2014. I am honoured to have this opportunity to stand before you to tell OUR story that all 31 of us have lived these past 9-10 years.
Sept 3, 2003. The day our parents dressed us up in our best outfit for success, packed our new lunch kits with our favourite foods and packed it inside Disney character back packs that were half as big as us. They tied or velcrowed our new bright running shoes and walked us to that big yellow bus that would drive us away to a new and exciting adventure that would create the memories and mold us into the individuals that stand before you today.
For some of us, school was foreign. Some of us knew a lot of people, and some of us knew nobody. Some of us wanted to come to school, and some of us didn’t. For my friend Wesley and I, this was a change that I remember fondly. Friends and teachers were new, the hallways and bathrooms were strange but open arms welcomed us. Wesley and I came from a little school down the road by the name of Ross Mineview that had closed its doors after 50 years of teaching. We both came to Cobden in Senior Kindergarten. It is a privilege to say, they saved the best 2 for last. Wes and I are the last 2 students that are graduating here tonight from that very school.
We were all innocent little boys and girls that wore our hearts on our sleeves and looked for guidance and trust throughout. Kindergarten was a time to create and set a foundation that would be ours for the next 9 to 10 years. It was a time to get sand in our hair, paint on our clothes, and a time for fun and laughter and memories that instill our brain today. Busy little bodies chasing one another around a large fenced in playground, which many of us referred to as the “Play Pen”. New friendships were created, wonderful innocent comments, giggles and whispers were said. The odd time one of us may have tears in our eyes, missing our Mom or accidently calling one of our teachers as “Mom”. We all had a few bumps and bruises along the way and lost a few teeth here and there. Mrs. Devries and Mrs. Bell had the patience of Saints to put up with whatever was thrown their way. They always managed to get us home safely with smiles on our faces and excited to come back the next day.
Mrs. Bulmer, Mrs. Guest, Mrs. Dombroskie and Mrs. Crozier continued to push, guide and teach us the basics that have helped us along the way. The memories of giving the primary teachers handfuls of beautiful yellow flowers that could be picked daily, but also thrown out daily. Teagan getting married in the school yard at an early age of just 8, boiled hotdogs every Friday for a year, kid zone and the stress of grade 3 testing are just a handful of memories that we will remember during our early years.
As we grew, some of our class chose to take the French path and other’s didn’t. Although our class was divided for half days there was always that sense of friendship, partnership and respect.
Mrs. Broome, Mr. Covell, Mrs. Barr, Mme Rosenault, Mr. Gallery, Mr. Bennett, Mme. Lindsey, Mr. McKay, Mrs. Oakes, Mrs. Burgess, Mme Martin,Ms. Levoy, Mme Sarah and Mr. Grady have all played major roles in our lives and education. As we look back at these years, there were lots of laughs and craziness. Brandon losing his chair privileges and having to carry around a stool with him everywhere he went, scavenger hunt with Mr. McKay and Mr. Grady on Parliament Hill, Logos Land trip, yearly trip to the Scoop, working the fun fairs, Queen’s University trip, torrential down pour while at Shaw Woods, making a call in language class to KFC to ask them if they really did make chicken corsages, the craziness around our drink machines, our many phrases that really only meant something to us and that we called our own…”Sheer it, Gigidy and Danish”, all sorts of themed days in which we all tried to participate in, Chris walking around the yard playing his guitar.
When I asked the class what they wanted me to say was their opinion of the best memory of this past year was, “They all said Toronto”. Aleisha dressing up as the Ace of spades, dancing around the cafeteria in the residence that we stayed in and having security come up to her and politely ask her to leave, tops the funny list. The boys getting their pictures with the Jay’s cheerleaders, Mr. Grady and Mme Sarah taking all of us country bumpkins on the subway, the entire class going out for ice cream at 11:30 at night, Ryan falling asleep during Lion King and the roller coaster rides at Wonderland are just a few of the fantastic memories we will all laugh about for years.
Over the years, all of us have taken part in various sports teams and activities: long, hard, hot track meets, cold and rainy cross country meets and the sports in between. The coaches believed in us, and pushed us to succeed to the best of our abilities.
In grade 8, we are all known as the oldest, responsible, mature and of course the COOLEST role models for our younger friends that will follow in our footsteps. We leave behind tons of memories, laughs, cries, and a school in which we have spent most of our young lives being molded into the characters that stand before you this evening.
On behalf of the 2014 graduating class, I would like to thank and acknowledge our parents for all of their guidance, unconditional support and love throughout these years. I think it is safe to say that we all are proud to call you our Mom’s and Dad’s.
In addition, thank you to the staff of Cobden District Public School. You have taught us a lot more than how to read, write, integers, how to write an essay, and passé compose. You have taught us to always be fair, how to properly score a 3 pointer, how to tie a tie, and you have given us a sense of community. Most of all, you a prepared us well for our next journey into high school and beyond by upholding the value of our school motto:“Courage to dream, Power to Succeed”.
I PRESENT TO YOU, YOUR GRADE 8 CLASS OF 2014
Thank you.
Cobden District Public School
Awards
Core French – Gabrielle Roy Award: Teah Corbin
French Immersion – Pierre Elliot Trudeau Award: Kelsey Edwards
Arts – Evelyn Hart Award: Emma Peever, Teegan Tabbert
Geography – Stephen Lewis Award: Aleisha Ciphery, Madison Tomasini
History – Sir John A. Award: Payton Rochon, Emily Wright-Letourneau
Language – Margaret Atwood Award: Kathleen Barr
Science – David Suzuki Award: Mitchell Roy
Mathematics – Gauss Award: Kohl Hedley
Effort – Rick Hansen Award: Brianna Mitchell
Music: Chris Smith
Valedictorian: Payton Rochon
Lion Club Science Award: Kohl Hedley
Travis Bromley Award: Paulena Oattes
Male Athlete – Steve Nash Award: Andrew Bryanton
Female Athlete – Clara Hughes Award: Sarah McIntyre, Kathleen Barr
Principal’s Leadership Award: Kathleen Barr
Grade 8 Renfrew County Medallion: Kathleen Barr, Kelsey Edwards, Kohl Hedley, Payton Rochon, Madison Tomasini, Brianna Mitchell
IN THE PHOTO:The grade 8 graduates from Cobden District Public School are, front row from left, Devon Baycroft, Chris Smyth, Emma Peever, Sarah McIntyre, Teah Corbin, Teegan Tabbert, Emily Wright-Letourneau, Ryan Donohue and Landon Bennett. Back row from left: Jesse Deschamps, Hailey Hartwick, Kelsey Edwards, Paulena Oattes, Sheridan Wieland, Megan King, Mitchell Roy, Payton Rochon, Wesley Barrington, Evan Reckzin, Brandon Weiss, Andrew Bryanton, Kohl Hedley, Nick Olmstead, Brendan Hennessy, Madison Tomasini, Christopher Zavinga, Kathleen Barr, Bailey Haaima, Aleisha Ciphery, Brianna Mitchell and Jeramy Deveen
