thank you you may be seated at this time i would like to invite students who will be singing our national anthem followed by the peters township alma mater to the front of the stage joshua bowman brendan days zachary ladies and gentlemen please rise and remove your hats for the singing of our national anthem good evening and welcome to the two thousand and thirteen peters township high school graduation and commencement ceremony it is my honor and pleasure to present to you this exceptional group of students who collectively represent not only academic athletic and artistic excellence but also incredible character building character is no easy task and is certainly not done alone there are a number of people who share credit for helping the students become the young men and women you see before you today i would like to take a moment to acknowledge those people as we bring to close our graduates years of public education first and most importantly to the parents and families of our students we thank you for providing the guidance tutoring transportation laughter and shoulder to cry on mom dad brothers sisters grandparents aunts uncles and cousins this night is as much for you as it is for our graduates tonight we celebrate you to our teachers it is your caring guidance and insistence on excellence that has helped our students achieve their potential high school teachers please stand we thank you for the early morning tutoring the late afternoon review sessions and the countless hours working with our students both in and outside of the classroom your passion and dedication has inspired us all our high school teachers are not alone in contributing to the achievement of today's graduates from kindergarten through senior year our students attend more than two thousand four hundred days of school over one thousand six hundred of those days are spent with elementary and middle schools teachers some of whom are with us here this evening elementary middle school teachers please stand thank you for planting the seeds for success and establishing a solid foundation for learning leadership and character often on recognized are the administrators at the building level and district office whose vision and leadership provide the foundation for excellence in our schools to these individuals accolades means less than student success their decisions are driven by what is best for kids please join me in thanking doctor the board of school directors are before you this evening and it is because of their work and difficult decision making that all of this is possible it takes a special individual to serve voluntarily in this capacity it is moments of celebration like this one macmurray mr mayor merrill and mrs smith we thank you tonight ceremony would not be possible without the collective efforts of the high school administrative team mr christian let's net miss emily stay sanders are assistant principals with me and your leadership and wisdom this year has been invaluable spent countless hours committed to the ensuring the success of all of the graduates here today thank you and finally there are many people who work behind the scenes to ensure that tonight runs smoothly mr zip a mr bond i mrs hodge and frick mr bonner miss at letter and the custodial maintenance staff and all of the students who are volunteering their time here tonight thank you at this time please join me in welcoming our first speaker tonight senior class president garrett warm bind to a senior class president i am honored to introduce the class of nine hundred sixty three tonight please stand as i call your name and audience please hold your applause until all of the names have been read constance burke mark light holder hemington donald h mare's wallace meryl james mesta phyllis philips presents a conrad simon matthew de church church  james a webster joseph webster wayne wicks and larry was new s i'd like to thank you all for probably representing the rich history of peter's township school district today we are honored to reflect on our school's past to celebrate the legacy that we've received from this distinguished class of  and to celebrate a half century of history while having the opportunity to celebrate our own accomplishments from the touch tone phone introduced in one thousand nine hundred sixty three to our own touch screen phones much has changed over the years to be honest i'm not sure my classmates and i are even quite sure what touch tone means why you may have listened to the chart topping beatles album please please please back in sixty three we dance to macklemore at our problem last friday today i find teenage girls with a case of bieber fever and their dedication to the man or boy is enough to make anybody a believer my apologies to the class of sixty three because the beads in the beatles probably shouldn't even be mentioned in the same speech and one of vent that no one can forget in one thousand nine hundred sixty three was the unfortunate and excuse me was the unfortunate and that was the assassination of john f kennedy the class of one thousand nine hundred sixty three along with our nation mourn the loss of a president shortly after our graduation for them this day will never be forgotten however we look to you and your generation as shining examples of living out j f k s legacy of service you embody kennedy's wise words ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country that is why we honor you hundred sixty three and remember fifty years of service to our country and our community now class of two thousand and thirteen we find ourselves in a very similar situation where staring our futures in the face and ready to move on we're so close now to graduating it just seems familiar so close that you're probably saying garrett we've already been sitting in these fashionable dresses for a while it might rain and i'm getting kind of hungry you might if we just snag our diplomas make brita run to aaa and my answer to that is no not yet because i'm going to have to make you sit through this motion to pull a will always be there down the street but we will not be here for much longer the ladies and gentlemen sitting to my left are here today because of the legacy they left behind all those many years ago they left to pursue their goals achieve their aspirations and live their dreams yet here they are today not forgetting the very place where they started that journey peters township now that we have the opportunity to reflect on four years we aren't seeing to forget i urge you to do the same don't forget where you came from well all of us have our complaints and apprehensions about p t sometimes never forget how our town has molded us as p t graduates we have been afforded blessings like our fantastic education our loving families and our lifelong friends at this point i'm guessing you might be saying to yourself garrett you straight up sound like mom and dad and yeah you're completely right i sound just like mom and dad but oddly enough in some ways i feel like i could be after all these years during my life jess i've got to meet some amazing people and even become friends with them and a majority of you were also talented more than we give ourselves credit for and it has been an honor and a blessing getting to watch us all grow into the promis g graduates we will soon become i could not have asked for a more rewarding high school experience and i hope one day if not today many of you can think the same in much the same fashion that j f k offered his wisdom today i ask you to not just remember peter township for what has done for you but to remember what legacy you now you behind and what you have done for our community and as we bear to leave it all behind many of us are excited some of us are nervous and a few of us are even scared what i'm going to tell you today is that it's ok to be excited nervous or scared it shows us that we're ready for the next step that we're not going into our futures blind peters township has prepared us for the next big step in ways we probably don't or don't realize it and sure there will be surprises and there will be challenges that's part of life and i'm sure that the class of two thousand and thirteen sitting in front of me here tonight will handle all those challenges without any problem because that's one thing we should always admire about our school and always be proud of our confidence and our optimism through twitter drama blackouts by chipmunks per se and our always successful extracurricular activities we found and continue to find ways to be confident and optimistic helping us to push forward so pushing forward fifty years what will the seniors of two thousand and thirteen be able to accomplish what history will we experience or define and what legacy will be left for the class of two thousand and sixty three english novelist anthony burgess eloquently puts my advice and words he said it's always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it to remember where you come from is part of where you're going so class of two thousand thirteen as tonight marks the beginning of our new exciting journey be confident an optimistic because we all have bright futures and we will all show the world just what a p t student can do thank you ladies and gentlemen please join me and welcoming student speaker maple chan to the podium good evening faculty and ministers families band great job and of course a class of twenty thirteen the number thirteen has quite the reputation for centuries it has been regarded as unlucky that there's no clear reason why however that hasn't stopped hotels and other tall buildings from mysteriously neglecting to include a thirteenth floor all superstitions die hard i guess a class of twenty thirteen i think we know from experience just how unlucky the number thirteen can really be for a start have any of you ever heard of a little program called foreign language exploratory or flex where students get to take classes in all three languages of if you haven't i'm not surprised well every other class went through it the class of twenty thirteen was skipped over while we're thinking about middle school remember the days of construction if i recall correctly are like a class was pushed out of classrooms that were being renovated and forced to fend for ourselves in the hallways auditorium and administration building and of course who can forget ivy lovett graduation for object so are we  the only ones who had to do it but we were the first and we had to do it before all the kings who worked out ok ok it wasn't really as bad as we thought it was going to be but since we were big fans of the time i'm going to count it in the list of unlucky things looking back at our past misfortunes it's easy to characterize our class we are the unlucky ones but standing here today looking at all the familiar faces and remembering the good times we had together i don't feel anything but lucky lucky to be part of this friendly talented ambitious group of young people lucky to have known you all lucky to have suffered through our unlucky circumstances together perhaps even counters some more road bumps and other classes that have gone through peter sounds of school district but this is only serves to make us more resilient let's backtrack a little bit remember how nervous we all were for the graduation project presentation not only were we the first class to go through it but i'm guessing most of you didn't even write your speech until the night before i sure didn't adults here today you can probably relate everyone has a first big speech so what if the first speech for most of our grade was required in order to graduate we've made it through a lot of tough times together and each time we've grown stronger and closer you know my teachers always said we were the nicest class and i can't help but agree when i joined the peer sounds of class of twenty thirteen in fifth grade i immediately felt welcome and now i can't imagine graduating with anyone else in middle school i made it a point to memorize everyone's name in the yearbook go ahead you can laugh at me but now this names and faces have become classmates friends and family i can't walk more than a few yards down the hallway without stopping to say hello to someone and i greet all of your achievements with as much of this as i'm as you would indeed the class of twenty thirteen is kind but we're not just nice we're smart we're capable and we're determined we're ready to start the next chapter of our lives some of us are going to college some are going into the armed services and some are going straight to work after this year we will no longer be defined by the twenty thirteen but will associate ourselves with other numbers the class of twenty seventeen the fiftieth president of the united states the number one dad but i hope will remember twenty thirteen whenever we're faced with unfairness or difficult times for us the number thirteen shouldn't be unlucky it should be a reminder of our ability to overcome obstacles after all we've survived snowmageddon the twenty twelve apocalypse and the blackout so far and i'm sure we'll see several more doomsday prophecies come and go we might have some rough patches here and there that's life we haven't made it this far without help from our teachers parents coaches and friends but you all are the most amazing group of people i've ever had the good fortune to know and each and every one of you is destined for great things plenty of people born on a friday the thirteenth have turned out ok and i don't see why graduating in twenty thirteen should be any different so class of twenty thirteen it's time to prove those old superstitions wrong break mirrors walk under ladders open umbrellas indoors we've already disproved unlike you thirteen by making it this far nothing can hold us back now thank you thank you maple well class of two thousand and thirteen in just a few short minutes you will no longer be peter's township high school students you will be peter's township high school alumni this is a moment of great celebration it marks the combination of over twelve years of rigorous academics enjoyable activities competitive sports close friendships and many successes as well as some failures i have to admit though i have mixed emotions today like your parents i am very proud of your accomplishments and you are a very accomplished accomplished class just check out the insert in your graduation program over six million dollars of scholarships since before you on the field today and i am excited for you to begin the next phase of your life but you're an endearing group of young men and women and i'm a little resistant to let you go when i sat down to write a message that would impart great wisdom and motivation to you i found my myself thinking about the impact you have had on this school and on the community and the wisdom you've already gained during your years at p t a h s you have collectively been so impactful on peter's township high school that you will be difficult to replace any time that i came to you with a need you responded in a unique and dynamic way i said to some of you hey steven schabowski wants to come here he is the author and director of the perks of being a wallflower he wants to talk to our students do you think you could put something together your response was an amazing parody called the perks of being a peter's kid it is something mr will never forget i certainly know i won't when we mention to your class officers the idea of joining forces with the other leaders in the school they created the executive council to advocate for all students when i brought groups of students together to discuss school spirit or lack of school spirit they enthusiastically organized and ran pep rallies brought back rowdy read and own the behavior of the student section at every sporting event every time i asked anything of you the answer was always sure we can do that these examples show that you embrace true leadership and it reveals itself even more in times of crisis i saw it when you sat in your classrooms for several hours during the infamous blackout you were calm and reassuring what could have been a very stressful experience was made better by you the class of two thousand and thirteen you set the example and others followed and the greatest part is that you didn't even know you were doing it this is your mark on p t garrett earlier spoke about legacy a legacy is something that is handed down or remains from a previous generation it has been an often discussed topic among your senior student leaders they began the year trying to figure out what legacy the seniors would leave behind they wanted it to be tangible something that generations to come could see and know that it came from the class of two thousand and thirteen many ideas were kicked around maybe not to a classroom maybe a senior lounge most of which we couldn't do i think your class officers even considered a full sized bronze statue of themselves at the front entrance that may have been carrots idea i think they were joking but the legacy of your class is your spirit it is courage passion empathy and optimism john quincy adams said if your actions inspire others to dream more learn more do more and become more you are a leader the class of two thousand and thirteen you have inspired each other and all of us to dream more learn more do more and become more your leadership is your legacy so what kind of advice can i give you here goes be open minded but stay true to yourself advocate for yourself no one else will be there to do it it's ok to change your mind if you find yourself headed down the wrong path  change it always remember your roots and finally slow down savor every moment and small success to quote charlie from percs or better yet christian  i know that these will just be stories one day right now we are alive and in this moment i swear we are indians congratulations class of two thousand and thirteen please join me in welcoming dr joseph imperial superintendent of schools to the podium good evening and welcome to the parents relatives friends of the class of two thousand and thirteen for the peters turned ship high school and i again welcome you on behalf of the board of school directors the administration and teachers and all staff bros it is are on are and privileged to have you here with us this evening to celebrate the graduation of the class of two thousand and thirteen for peter's timeship high school on behalf of all of the staff members from kindergarten through high school we want to thank you the parents for and trusting us with the important responsibility of educating your children we we feel confident that we have done our best to educate your children to be successful in both their personal and professional lives there is an old saying which i mentioned to the seniors who attended the assembly earlier this week yes it is said that good things come to those who wait but most people don't know the second part of that important statement good things come to those who wa if they work while they're waiting if there is one thing that i want to encourage the class of two thousand and thirteen to do is to recognize the importance and even the joy of work work hard enjoy work remember it's only work if you don't like what you are what you are doing and i am encouraging you to find and enjoy work and do it better than anyone else i want to share with you a quote from a young person some near to your age graduates of two thousand and thirteen by the way i could have selected a famous person like benjamin franklin or thomas jefferson but i thought that you as young men and women of the class of two thousand and thirteen would enjoy hearing more something more from someone closer to your age than mine so i selected a quote from the daughter of donald trump event the trump who said in a recent magazine a love what you do there will always be someone else who is smarter than you but there is no substitute for passion people with passion always work their heart as and they and that sets them apart one outstanding example of the hard work that set the class of two thousand and thirteen apart was the lip dub video that won the high school first prize among national contestants the video in many ways involved all of the skills that your teachers and peter's timeship have worked so hard to impart to you hard work creativity organization team or having a common goal and accomplishing it all in a very short period of time you did that and you did it in an amazing way you accomplished all of these things through hard work and had fun doing it this is the eggs at the excellent example that reflects the good values that your parents and family have set for you and the ex and that example will serve you all through your lives it's been such a privilege to work here in peter's township this year and again i command and congratulate the class of two thousand and thirteen  board thank you on behalf of the board of school directors i'd like to welcome you to the celebration of the graduation of the class of two thousand and thirteen i'd also like to thank the class of one thousand nine hundred sixty three for attending the event and congratulate them on their fiftieth reunion it's rewarding to see so many of our gifted teachers staff and administrators with us tonight as well and finally a big welcome to the graduates it's been a long journey and you finally reached your destination congratulations now there may have been some doubt that you would get here at all but with the help of your family and friends you did it so let's take an opportunity right now graduate stand up face the crowd and give them a round of applause i know they appreciate it because they aren't it as i look back on all the struggles that you faced i realize how far this class has come you know stand at the start of a new chapter of your lives you've changed grown and achieve goals you never thought you could reach i've been lucky enough to watch many of you including my son alex be accepted at their dream college where the real changes will start where you can choose your own path the next four years is your time to explore your passions make mistakes and figure out what makes you truly happy take the opportunity to travel change your major may be more than wants change your mind then change it again because nothing is permanent as much as i'd like to tell you that you can stick to a plan and be successful life just doesn't work like that anymore the career you dream of today may not exist in ten years things change so fast these days that if you blink you may miss an opportunity to live your life with urgency purpose and conviction perhaps steve jobs said it best when he said your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your inner voice have courage to follow your heart and intuition as you move forward either to college the workforce the military or your own path keep your heart and mind open to new ideas the day you stop learning is the day you stop living take the tools that you've gathered here and peters along with the memories and friends and make your own story make it a story that brings joy to your heart and grows with each passing day you'll be needed you'll be really need to be ready to change and reinvent yourself and no matter how hard it gets no matter what challenges you face don't give up don't ever give up i wish you all the best in the future and may god bless your journey from here thank you please welcome mrs cindy go on b s d president appears township board of school directors to introduce our honorary teacher speaker thank you mrs public and welcome everyone to this fabulous evening and congratulations and i know what you're thinking it's about time class of two thousand and thirteen i have the great pleasure to introduce the teacher who was voted upon by the students of the class of two thousand and thirteen to speak the sea of men mr joe mays has been coaching at peter mr joe mays has been coaching and teaching at peters township high school for thirty five years he was the head girl softball coach for seven years before taking over the baseball program in  slippery rock mr mays holds a b s degree in health and physical education from slippery rock and he also has a m s degree and athletic administration from west virginia university mr mays with the it was the athletic director for twenty years before returning to the classroom in two thousand and six he is currently retiring from teaching at peters township high school we wish mr may use the very best we can graduate mr mays and his wife cam and his two sons ryan and aaron who both graduated from peter stacia high school mr mason we could never even guess how many students and parents you have touched over these years and how many students and probably parents you have instilled with your values and your great character but one thing i can say for sure whoever they are wherever they are if they should ever hear you have to answer to mr mays they're running friends and family and friends the class of two thousand and thirteen members of the school district staff board of education graduating class of one thousand nine hundred sixty three and especially to the dear class of two thousand and thirteen it is an author to be a small part of this special day of celebration a product tell you that this is my thirty fifth graduation that i have attended and i've had one of the most important jobs at thirty three of those thirty five graduations and that is the job of golf cart driver i've enjoyed transporting grandparents parents and family friends to and from the stadium and at the end of this ceremony if anyone is looking for a ride i'll be the guy in the fancy gown a silly hat but i came here thirty five years ago from waynesburg after spending my time a slippery rock and it's hard to believe that i've had such great fortune to work with such as in a great community especially working with the young people here in peter's township i'm proud extremely proud to be a part of such a dedicated staff as the one we have in the peter's touch of school district and speaking now as a parent i want to thank you for your dedication commitment that you have made to the people the young people in our community my wife and i are thankful for the education you provided for my two sons who as was previously to are alumni of p t a h s and i'm sure there are many parents here tonight who feel the same way about our staff i was very fortunate to work in one place here at peter's but what has made the difference so special was able to fill so many different roles at different times throughout my career i started out the middle school teaching physical education in one thousand nine hundred six came up here and served proudly as the director of athletics but also an opportunity to teach driver education behind the wheel and also in the classroom seven years ago was face very difficult decision i was asked to step in as the fulltime athletic administrator and really when it came down to is very easy decision i decided i did not want to leave the job i truly love and that was teaching and coaching graduates i hope years of fortunate as i have been when you find your job and career and that is having fun at what you do i have had fun each and every day i've come into this building as because of you is been a privilege to teach the most important that you took in four years of high school and i know what i'm talking about when i walked in the first day and i said welcome to driver's theory this is the most important class you can take in four years and the very last day and i'm saying it again gang that was the most important class it was fun to teach a subject and almost related to when you were in first grade learning to read and write i felt that i was teaching fifteen sixteen year old first graders because you had no clue about the task of driving and the responsibilities and we talked a lot about responsibilities making good decisions and knowing the consequences if you make a bad decision the also what i was lucky about is that i've taught for twelve of the fourteen sections eighty six percent of you pass the jo may school driving so you should be very very proud of that there were thought times when i thought they're not paying attention to me until one day a dad came up to me and said you know i was driving down the road and i made an illegal u turn and my daughter looked at me and she said dad what would joe may say and i had another lady at a restaurant she came up to me after somebody had said joe mays and they said excuse me you're joe mays i said yes she says i was one to meet you because every time i make a driving mistake my daughter says joe mays would not approve so i do think you were all listening to what we talked about in driver's theory but my vice to you as we move on to the next chapter of life relates to my driver's theory class if you remember the most important video that i showed you goofy's highway and goofy reminded us that driving is nothing but common sense i would hope you would take goofy's words and make that philosophy the same with all the decisions you're going to make each and every day you can be faced with difficult situations and decisions starting with the graduation parties and moving throughout the summer and then off to school and work use common sense always ask yourself two questions is  will make the right thing to do and will my family and more importantly i be proud of that decision one other piece of advice and this is come from my mom and dad who i'm very proud to tell you that are and ten because i've always been very supportive of me treat others always treat other people the same way you expect to be treated by them treat others with respect dignity and on now about you when i think about the class of two thousand and thirteen and some of these things i've already mentioned four things come to mind success leadership school spirit and petey pride some examples of the success our plays in productions the concerts the clubs representing our school and national and state level but due to my associates with athletic program i am just blown away by the success of o and one win away from going to the state championship game in our dance team national champions the success of these teams clubs and individuals due to the leadership of the people sitting in front of me second success of any high school in the zation starts from the example of the seniors sat in the class of two thousand and thirteen it will be hard to surpass what you have done for this school and this community your leadership we saw the best year that i have witnessed in my thirty five years in this school district as far as school spirit and pride your support of one another has been unmatched the themes  organize and going to athletic events white out night red black night cammo night caribbean caribbean and why and night i had fun watching kids have fun but the one thing that i always remember about this class is the leaped up contest that most of you participated in and thanks to the dedication of mr bastos and mrs hodgett frick and a video club they helped produce one the most entertaining productions that i have seen in this school i think almost every club activity and athletic team in the school was involved and with mrs pavlik support in the regional contests a reward first place finish with an award of five thousand dollars congratulations to everyone involved and thank you for your leadership seniors whatever you do in the media at long term future and since i'm graduating from the peter stacia pi school i'm hoping that you will accept me as an honorary member of the class of two thousand and thirteen god bless you and thank you very much it's time seniors we will now present the diplomas to the class of two thousand and thirteen first row of seniors please rise and proceed to the stage matthew christopher lauren marie are curi hannah lee baron dino jeffrey ryan barry jacob alexander bland dino morgan elizabeth boyer grace arlene brands that are joseph william brucker christina marie carbon era caitlin rose carr christopher richard bizarre hannah taylor carpenter madison catherine k so kimberly andrea austin tyler chappel joshua david cherry connor jeffrey crane kavin paul crawford angela nicole kramer connor matthew daly rachel caroline crane lauren marie landon edward carly nicole davis lindsay elizabeth dawson lynne d steven william elliot elizabeth i'm sorry isabella layin gina marie de paulo jessica rose dow joseph clayton fairbanks the third marie ellis jake edward floyd mallory grace finch david patrick a lon rebecca and matthew alexander gerard jessica jean for shannon may christine aaron go julia catherine go elizabeth and gesso birdie neil william harrison julianne nicole nicole griffith bailey nicole grim caio daniel higgins joshua matthew how words alexandra nichol harman craig conway johnson kelly nichol henry ryan patrick jones carla rose hog christian martin kelly a livia and hoover mara and howard nicole elizabeth hum  hannah nicole jacobs thomas jake jessica lynch johnson matthew robert come on kelly and johnson jessica taylor joseph joshua thomas bethany paige kelly tyler chase leach kelsey elizabeth eric scott rachel marie kenny gregory s liberty junior matthew avery lowther alexander john emily elizabeth  justin robert sara marie matthew david alexander thomas caitlin elizabeth thomas leonard cameron james maxwell chase patrick mcintyre elanie joy andrew calling more mara elizabeth major ryan edward monday louise martin rubin mary thomas edward cody james on  christina suzanne mcneil daniel richard what alexandra know cole miller alexis nicole miller charles pocket samantha rose more victoria charlene morgan cody f pile josephine nannette niche men trevor joseph wrecked inwal troy anthony record no way roberto r matthew allen sable shannon parrot joseph steven emilie katherine peterson drew schaefer christian peter shreds lara rose perky daniel wayne shirley john arthur smith james leon taylor nicholas l xander toss savannah kathleen kelly marie cassandra and jeremy tyler wagner alexandra chase simon garret matthew warren by sarah elizabeth smart timid the clerk warned the second chloe brenna smith kevin anthony webber hannah teresa cameron stone winter halter no cole thomas michael patrick w a meal you know no cole trunk