Good morning Class of 2008 – as well as Parents, Family, Teachers and Friends,

Today is a special day, a day of remembrance and accomplishment. Each of us has a unique story.  Some of us have been with CORE for much of our school careers, some are graduating early, and others have transferred from other high schools to finish requirements and graduate. The unique features of CORE have attracted all of us here to this pivotal point in time, to graduate from this stage, together as the class of 2008.

Choosing Independent Learning

Choosing to join CORE has been an incredible blessing in my life – as it has allowed me to pursue my hobbies, chosen activities, & business, all while enabling me to manage my own schedule.

While starting High School – I simultaneously became enthralled with the sport of dog sledding after reading Gary Paulsen and Jack London stories in the 8th grade. I gobbled up everything I could find about the sport.

Because of my knowledge of web design & management – I decided to start a site dedicated to the sport of mushing. Much to my surprise, the website was met with a huge reception.

Sleddoggin.com has now grown to be one of the largest dog sledding sites on the internet. It serves 100,000 pages of content to 22,000 viewers monthly to a worldwide mushing community. Along with operating my online business, self assisted learning allows me more time to train & work with my dogs.

The flexibility of CORE schooling has allowed me this freedom to pursue my passions.

As Time Passes

The road to this point in our lives has taken hard work – and dedication. In the beginning, the intense world of schooling fell upon most of us at the tender age of 6 years. We were invincible – and the world, along with our Action Figures and Barbie dolls, were at our finger tips. Time passed – and in our minds, school was never going to end. Middle school quickly sped by – and, oh the terror… High School was upon us. One final four year push ‘till we could graduate. Now we’re here; wondering where the time went.

During High School there were classes, dances, lots of romances – and even the occasional reprimand. We took the good with the bad – and accomplished what we started twelve years ago. Our lives were touched by remarkable teachers. Each bit of information they shared with us – transferred lessons from their own lives – to help make ours better. They cared for us – and loved us; and will always be concerned for our well-being. That’s the blessed job of a teacher.

Making Mistakes and Looking to the Future

In school we’ve learned, made mistakes, grown; and become better, well rounded individuals. What’s important now is to look to the future.

Hopefully CORE has inspired us all to become life-long learners – and will continue to help us develop into more of who we will be in the future. A huge world is waiting after we leave this chapter in our lives – with more choices and paths than we can ever imagine.

What will we do with our lives?

We’re about to move on – and mold the future of our own lives – as well as our country and the lives around us.

It doesn’t matter whether we were high school’s most popular student, an amazing athlete, or a computer nerd. What matters now is that we leave high school as good citizens, with compassion for others, and a desire to lead meaningful lives.

Some of us may become doctors, some teachers, others soldiers, and who knows, maybe one – a president. It’s up to us to become the good workforce & citizens of our own communities.

The reigns of the world are in our hands and what will we do with them?

In closing I would now like to relate the following poem titled, The Dash, by Linda Ellis:

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive here on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?