June 17, 2004

Holy Spirit School celebrates 2004 graduation ceremony

June 4 marked the third graduation liturgy and ceremony for Holy Spirit School’s eighth grade class of 2004, held at Holy Spirit Church. The presider at the Liturgy and Ceremony was Fr. Brenda McGuire, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish. Also in attendance were Fr. George Mancha, pastor of St. Anthony Parish, and Fr. Paul Weisbeck, pastor of St. William Parish, former pastor of Holy Spirit Parish.

Members of the class of 2004 are Nicholas Arthur, Allison Aubrey, Tyler Barnes, Alissa Boddie, Jenna Brehmer, Natasha Cannon, Michael Conroy, Katelyn Daley, James Ensell, Jennifer Fischer, Christopher Flynn, John Germaine, Rajpreet Gill, Joseph Gonia, Zachary Guild, Kaelynn Lewis, Nora Lopopolo, John Medeiros, James Molnar, Nathan Murphy-Mahoney, Andrea Nelson, Garrett Norona, Laura Pedersen, Priscilla Sanchez, Candace Stanley, Corey Tucker, Tracy Vargo, Emily Weller and Britni Whiting.

The Holy Spirit School Award was presented to Nora Lopopolo, and is the highest honor given to a graduate. Nora received $100, and also had the honor of delivering the commencement speech for both the honors assembly and at graduation.

Numerous other service certificates and awards were given to the class of 2004: Religion-Allison Aubrey, Reading/Literature-Nicholas Arthur, Language Arts-Natasha Cannon, Mathematics-James Molnar, Algebra-Tracy Vargo, Social Studies-Corey Tucker, Science-Rajpreet, Humanities-Laura Pedersen, and Computer-Corey Tucker.

The Athletics Award was presented to Tracy Vargo and James Molnar. This award is given to one boy and one girl who have played for the Holy Spirit School during their eighth grade year. This individual showed dedication to the school team, displayed a positive attitude, is an outstanding team player, and is a coachable player.

The American Legion Award was presented to John Medeiros, James Molnar and Emily Weller for outstanding citizenship, politeness, loyalty, honest, cooperation, scholarship, service and leadership.

The President’s Education Award was presented to Nicholas Arthur, Allison Aubrey, Alissa Boddie, Katelyn Daley, Rajpreet Gill, Nora Lopopolo, John Medeiros and Laura Pedersen. This national award recognizes educational excellence and academic success in the classroom. It is given to students who have achieved a grade point average of 90 percent or better during their entire sixth, seventh and eighth grade years, as well as having earned a national percentile ranking of 85 percent or higher on the mathematics and reading sections of the standardized tests given in these grades. A congratulatory letter from the President of the United States, George W. Bush, was also read.

The Knights of Columbus Award is given to two students who have shown exceptional Catholic Christian qualities to their classmates as well as dedication to their church and religion. This award was presented to Natasha Cannon and John Germaine along with a Bible.

The Leadership Award was presented to James Ensell as an eighth grade student who showed outstanding leadership to the entire student body. The General Excellence Award was presented to Alissa Boddie and Nora Lopopolo who showed exceptional success in all academic areas as well as conduct, leadership and service.

Eileen Beck awarded Katelyn Daley the Principal’s Award, which is given annually to the all-around student who has shown the greatest effort in both academics, in service, and in conduct throughout the entire eighth grade year. Fr. Brendan McGuire presented the Pastor’s Award to Laura Pedersen who had the highest grade point average in all academic subjects during her eighth grade year. This student also showed excellence in conduct, leadership, and service.

Eileen Beck, principal of Holy Spirit School, is proud of all of the 29 eighth grade graduates. “We wish our graduates the very best of luck and offer them heartfelt congratulations. It has been an honor for the teachers and staff here at Holy Spirit School to have been a part of their elementary education. We will truly miss all 29 of them and hope that they will return often to visit,” she commented.

“I was very excited to be part of the commencement ceremony. This is my first time to participate as pastor, and I hope to be part of this joyous ceremony for years to come,” Fr. Brendan McGuire added.

Members of the graduating class will attend Bellarmine, Presentation, Archbishop Mitty, St. Francis, and Valley Christian. Mrs. Beck, added, “We feel so fortunate to have begun a fine tradition of providing a quality values-based education for K-8 students in the Almaden Valley.”

Holy Spirit School opened in fall 2000 with an enrollment of 240. The school is growing and will have a projected enrollment of 475 in fall 2004, which includes a new junior kindergarten for 4-yearolds. This new program will be located in the Holy Spirit Parish hall, and will be licensed for 40 preschool children. For more school information, call (408) 268-0794 or visit the school Web site at www.holyspirit-school.org.