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St. Mary's High School held Commencement Exercies for the Class of 2008 on Sunday, May 18 with 22 students receiving their diplomas. Valedictorian Justin C. and Salutatorian Annette F. spoke their classmates about their time together at SMHS as not an ending, but a beginning. Fr. Matt Hewitt, former pastor and teacher at St. Mary's, gave the graduation address and reminded the graduates to "not forget God" on their journeys. Knights of Columbus Awards went to Molly L. and Angela W.; Kiwanis Beaver's Award was given to Justin C.; Bar Award went to Justin C.; Spirit of St. Mary's Award was given to Rylee P.; St. Mary's Service Award was given to Camille P.; Student Council Leadership Awards were given to Rylee P. and Justin C.; and the Mary Catherine Hagedorn Diocesan Scholarship was given to Erin B..

Century Club was created by librarian Ellen Smith four years ago to promote reading and reward students in the process. The Century Club awards readers who earn 100 or more Accelerated Reader points. This task is not simple, as books are assigned points based on reading level difficulty. Second grader Abby J. read over 40 books to earn her spot in the club and fourth grader Caitlin E. racked up nearly 250 points since September. Sisters Rachel and Cassie T. also accumulated more than 200 points. The 2008 group was twice as large as last year's--so large in fact, Smith held two parties to accommodate the big group.

The Accelerated Reader (AR) Program is the most popular and successful reading product of all time. The benefits St. Mary's has seen with the program include making essential reading practice more effective for every student, personalizing reading practice to each student’s current level, managing all reading activities including independent reading and building a lifelong love of reading and learning.

Left photo: (front) Mary Rose T. (7th), Paige C. (7th) Chelsey M. (8th), Molly L. (7th) & Alex L.; (back) Ashley L. (7th), Cassie T. (7th), Holly K. (7th), Blake W. (7th), Arturo C. (7th), Nick S. (8th), Dillan S. (7th), Halie L. (7th), Wendy B. (7th), Mrs. Ellen Smith & Chris R. (7th). Absent were Kasey C. (8th) & Danielle D. (7th).

Right photo : (front) Eric B. (4th), Caitlin E. (4th), Kassandra V. (4th), Abby J. (2nd) & Trisha L. (4th); (back) Alex S. (5th), Aaron M. (5th), Tate C. (5th), Ryan P. (6th), Mrs. Ellen Smith, Rachel T. (6th) & Diew T. (6th).

Character Does Count!--St. Mary's Middle School Character Council has been very busy throughout the school year organizing actvities for grades 5-8. The student council puts together fundraisers at Christmas and Valentine's Day to raise money for Faith Hope & Charity and the St. Mary's Scholarship Fund. The group also helps to organize snacks and lunch for Earth Day activities coming up on May 16. Council President Mary Rose T. and Vice President Paige C. pick up papers in a classroom for recycling as part of another of the group's year-long service activities. Other council members include: Halie L., Jasmine D., Diew T., Tyler W., Allie H., Riley G., Riley F., Mark B., Chuol B., Riley L., Colton L., Lexi N., Emily P. and Kelsey P.