Honorees Recognition Day

KDES Honorees

contributed by Gabrielle Jones

“Time flies” reflected Tristian Brown, one of our honorees over the past few years. Yes, in fact it is hard to believe that it is time to let go of all of our honorees including Elijah Campbell, Rebecca Martin, Mahalia Palmer, Alicia Balzer, Norah Matthews, Tristian Brown, Charleen Foster, Sylvester Spencer, Sean Raghunandan, Latia Falls, and Jene Kelly who will move on to high school. We have truly enjoyed having them on our Team 6/7/8 this year and they will sorely be missed.

Our Honorees Recognition Day opened up with our beloved “Star Spangled Banner” signed by Mike, Megan, and Mahalia. Alicia, our top student, thanked all the staff and parents for making a difference and for allowing them to remember the wonderful experiences at KDES. As our graduates are about to step into new horizons, Pakuna, Norah, Charleen, and Rosaleen signed a beautiful and an encouraging song called, “I Believe I Can Fly!” to remind them that they are able to succeed wherever they go. We had the privilege of having Irvine, a Gallaudet graduate, to be our special guest. Amy, Sean, Chris, Joe, and Ashley performed a hilarious skit and danced to a popular rhythmic hip-hop dance. The afternoon ended with Maureen and Don Mahoney giving out academic, social, and physical awards.

Cutting cake

Here were the awards that were given this year:

Wildcat Awards:
Alicia Balzer, Jene Kelly, Norah Matthews, Mahalia Palmer, Sylvester Spencer, and Rebecca Martin

Elizabeth Jackson Award:
Sean Raghunandan

Linwood Smith Award:
Norah Matthews

Malcolm Norwood Award:
Mahalia Palmer

The Kendall School Cups:
Alicia Balzer and Jene Kelly

A note to all honorees: Congratulations to you all for all your hard work and we wish you the best as you reach for the sky! Come back and visit us at KDES!

Students comments:
Sean H.: Graduation was great!

NaVarro: Sylvester was my best friend for four years. I’m saddened that he won’t be here anymore, but when I’m a freshman at MSSD I ‘ll see him.

Karina: I’ll miss Alicia. She was my role model. She was an excellent volleyball and softball player. She was a special friend. We fooled around a lot.

Jake: I’ll miss Sean R. He was friendly. He encouraged me to be positive. Sean was never a problem. He always sat next to me.

Antisha: I’ll miss EJ and Becky. They picked on me. I enjoyed chatting with Becky.

Sean H.: My good friends were Mahalia, Alicia, Sly, EJ and we hung around together a lot. The girls picked on me constantly. I look forward to seeing them when I will be a freshman.

NaVarro: I hope Sylvester will have many friends.

Jake: Good luck in your new school, Sean! Hope you’ll make friends!