Graduation Festivities - Part One

Needless to say that after we returned from Boston, we hit the ground running...literally.  Our plane arrived around 6:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, and that evening at 7:00 p.m. was the first of many banquets and honor ceremonies for Aly.  Tuesday evening was the Choir banquet, where Aly received two awards and her first letter in Choir.  She also received an "Exemplary Performance" Award and an award for being in choir all 4 years of High School.

Next up was the Extra Mile Awards.  This is a club you can join and log community service hours.  Aly logged over 500 service hours, and received a black cord to wear over her graduation robes.  We are most proud of this accomplishment as it shows how much she loved to serve those around her.  What a great quality to have!!  (This is the sponser of the group. See her black chord?)

Following this was the Golden Scholar ceremony and scholarship awards.  A Golden Scholar keeps the GPA above 3.8 for the semester.  Some of the seniors sang the National Anthem to begin the program.  I guess they wanted to end their year in a "memorable" way.  So, as each name was read, the choir members decided to do something "different" as the shook the hand of the principal.  Aly lead the group...of course!

Aly also received the Chandler-Gilbert Community College President's Award - an academic award that pays for 2 years of tuition. This works perfectly since she is headed to Mexico her first semester and then wanted to get her required credits done at a community college before transferring to....we don't know that yet!!  This is part of the group of seniors with various awards and scholarships.

Within this 10-day period, we finished it off with the Highland Choir Final Concert.  This concert is absolutely phenomenal.  The music and performance was so touching and it ended with a crowd favorite "Come Thou Font".  Some of Aly's best friends are in choir and this has been one of her highlights of her high school years.  I loved that she chose choir!  It brought back alot of memories for me!!

 At the final Choir concert, each "senior" is honored and recognized.  Here is Aly's 2 minutes of fame!!

Next up??  Week of Graduation!!