Good Morning, Class of 2023 My name is Trinity Crockett, your 2023 Valedictorian. As I look across this crowd, I see friends, old and new. I also see friends I have yet to make. I see my family that I have found and my family that I was given. I look upon my fellow graduates as people with unimaginable potential. My friends, we have made it. We are at the end of an exciting and integral era. What we have experienced has helped shape us into the young men and women we are today and the ones we are becoming. We were in 5th grade, going into 6th when the pandemic started. We were forced into our homes at 10 and 11 years old, rarely leaving for months. This stunted our growth as people. We have had to relearn what it means to live in a society and what it means to be a scholar. Yet, and still, we are all crossing the stage before you. That is the definition of resilience. The tenacity we've shown over the past three years is astounding. We are taking a step in the right direction. I have attended this school for 2,459 days. That is six years, nine months, and 26 days. Over this more than six-and-a-half-year span, I have found so much here. I have found a family in this school and a safe space. In the more than six years I’ve been here, I have never felt unsupported or undervalued. Never a second. Every teacher I’ve had, since Ms. Raven, my first at this school, to Ms.Keisha, my final teacher here, has been more than generous and kind. I walked into these doors in 2nd grade; I was seven years old, outspoken, and dangerously sharp if I say so myself. The grace I’ve been given here was not exclusive to myself; this is the most inclusive place I've ever been. And while I am excited to be moving on, it is with profound sorrow that I do. I almost fear no one will compare me to the special people I’ve met here. I made and lost my first best friend here. Some of the worst things that happened to us happened at this school, yet I know that we will miss it dearly. We have been through so much together, so it is both freeing and heartbreaking that many of us won't be attending the same school. We lost our friend, Will, this year, and instead of the grief tearing us apart, it has brought us even closer together. All the arguments and fights have proved to be no match for our unspoken bonds. That is true friendship. Crossing this stage of life into the next step is scary and always will be, no matter what, but our fear is nowhere near what it would be if it weren't for the excellent staff. While seeing us all go our separate ways into this scary world is saddening, I cannot adequately express my pride. The impact we've all had on each other is one of the greatest. Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I chose this quote because it speaks to our experience as students here. I urge you all, as my fellow graduates, to never live in fear of the future and what may happen. No matter what, the moon will always rise, and the sun will always fall. Nothing we do will ever delay the inevitable; we are the future.

If we think about the big picture of what children need, it can be easier to think of activities that will satisfy those needs and support natural development.