By Margie Doyle

The eighth-grade class at Orcas Island Middle School was honored at a Promotion Ceremony on Friday, June 22 by teachers, principals, staff, family and friends at the Orcas School Cafeteria.

Elementary/Middle School Principal Kyle Freeman ticked off the many achievements of the class, now set to enter Orcas High School – participation in band, the Math Olympiad, basketball, soccer and volleyball, the strings group.

He introduced the Middle School Student body officers – President Jo Gudgell, Vice-President Anthony Kaskurs, Treasurer Zach Waage, Secretary Lily Ater and Class representatives Kaya Osborn and Hallea Thompson.

Peggy Coburn of Kiwanis Service Club saluted the members of its Middle School off-shoot, the Lock Club, and noted their activities this year: carving pumpkins to decorate the Senior Center, painting a mural in the Middle School Commons, beach clean-up days and car washes and teacher appreciation days.

Principal Freeman gave out the Presidential Awards for Excellence to those students who’ve maintained a 3.5 grade point average all through Middle School:

  • Jo Gudgell
  • Wylie Kau
  • Dana Sabine
  • Anthony Kaskurs
  • Kahana Pietsch
  • Lily Ater
  • Kara Veldman
  • Hallea Thompson
  • Zach Waage

Winners of the Commendable Improvement award, give by Middle School teachers to those students who’ve shown the most growth, were Holden Griskey-Watson and Tiana Tompkins. Freeman noted, that although they had “exceeded expectations” in their work at Middle School, they’d also remained true to themselves.

Freeman congratulated the class for its successes at the Spaghetti Dinner, the Student Body Elections and at the Middle School Dance – which was so successful it was “crashed” by high school students.

He noted departing teachers Laura Tidwell, who is taking a leave of absence, Denise O’Toole and Kathi Anderson, who is retiring.  Teachers Tidwell, O’Toole and Marilyn Storey then gave out diplomas to one of the largest 8th-grade classes promoted from Orcas Middle School.

At the conclusion of the ceremony Freeman gave three bits of advice:

  1.  Continue to grow. “Look around you, there are people here to help pick you up when you make mistakes;”
  2.  Take care of each other, “as you already do;”
  3.  Stay true to yourself

A reception followed the ceremony. Because of the four snow days in January, Orcas District Schools’ final day will be Monday, June 25.

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