My Message To The Parents

This is a message for the parents, guardians and families of the grads from Mr. Paley.

It is amazing that it is now June of 2014 and we are at the end of the five year secondary school experience for these students. It has been the most profound educational experience of my career seeing these kids grow from young grade 8s to mature grade 12s. The past five years have been filled with hard work, challenges, growth and fun and I have been constantly impressed and excited to see these talented students change over time. The future is bright for all of them and for our society- in this room right now we have bright and enthusiastic future teachers, engineers, nurses, lawyers, graphic designers, musicians, and social workers to name a few. I love what we do at Gladstone and the way we shape and direct young students - I see in front of me great citizens and leaders who really care about how they treat each other and who have learned the value of giving back. I have worked closely with so many of you in the past five years and I feel like I have been a part of your families. The trust that you have given me to work with your children was not taken lightly and I have done my very best to support them and you. This is a day of celebration and you have done such a good job raising these kids - well done!

One final note - the cards you received tonight were all handmade and include an original piece of art by Mr. Paley's father who is a professional artist.