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Graduation 2004

Graduate Speaker

Joey Thompson

Hello! My name is Joey, I am 14 years old, and I have been going to Khalsa for 6 years.    I started my schooling here in the 4 th grade, with Jaswant Khalsa as my teacher.    Jaswant was and still is and brilliant teacher.    She did everything with a cleverly ingenious flair, and taught me to think "outside of the box".    Because of her, I have an open mind, and I am able to see a problem from many different angles, this has and will continue to help me with various situations throughout my life.

I stayed in Jaswant's class for 3 years, from 4 th to 6 th grade.    It was during these 3 years that I learned how to manage my time, set ideal goals, and accomplish them.    I wouldn't want to leave Khalsa without Jaswant knowing that she is a wonderful teacher, and she does her job very well.

In 2001 ,  I graduated from Jaswant's class, and went to the Khalsa Middle School, where I had Karen Paxton as my teacher.    Knowledgeable of all the basic tools of learning, my schooling became more complex as I learned about social studies and science.    In Middle School our class consisted of only 6 people, and I was the only 7 th grader in the class.    At the end of the year, I sat alone watching my 8 th grade peers graduate to high school.    During the graduation, I had to welcome the 6 th graders into Middle School, by handing them each a carnation.    Little did I know that I was handing carnations to one of the best things that would ever happen to me at Khalsa School.

In 2002, I advanced to the 8 th grade, and slowly became friends with my 7 th grade peers. Eventually, our middle school class became very tightly knit, close friends.    Over the next few months, they became my mental support, and that year I knew that I wasn't ready to go to high school.    I knew that I wanted to wait another year so I could grow up with these people that I loved so much.

My second year in 8 th grade went by very fast, and I was and still am happy with my decision to wait another year before going to high school.    I became good friends with many of the new 7 th grade students, and I am going to miss them very much.

After this summer vacation, I will be going to the International Baccalaureate Program at North High School.

Although I am ready for this transition to high school, I will miss the Khalsa and its cheerful environment.

I would like to thank Sat Want, Jaswant, Karen, and the rest of the Khalsa faculty who continue to keep Khalsa a safe, educational, and culturally diverse school.    I would also like to thank my mom, Dorothy, for paying for my pizza on Pizza Day, and also for always being supportive, even when I'm annoying or negative .   Most importantly, I would like to thank all of my friends; Hannah, Leah, Allyson, Janessa, Robert, Joe, Lauren, Emma, Arjan, Irene, Tayler, Evie, Amanda Griffiths, Tyler, Amanda Glass, Lee Vaughn, Bianca, Guru Roop, and Margie for being amazing, loving people who I will always admire and respect.    My friends are my family; they listen and respect my opinion.    No matter what happens we will always have a good laugh, and go on with a smile on our faces.   My experience at Khalsa has, without a doubt, been a good one, and I am excited to see what the future has in store