Graduates appreciate support from community
On behalf of the West Valley Graduating Class of 2006 we would like to recognize the West Valley Community for supporting, encouraging, mentoring and teaching us. We know that we did not get to this point of graduating from high school without the contributions and dedication of a variety of people, institutions and businesses that have invested in our school and our students because they wanted us to succeed and realize our dreams.
The list of West Valley contributors is long. A few that come to mind are Albertsons (they have donated to activities we’ve been involved in from kindergarten to the Senior All-Nighter); GJ’s Construction (the Jeffreys have donated time and resources to athletics and the school for years); American Legion Baseball (this organization has supported West Valley baseball players for more than 50 years); and Tom and Norma Ventris (Mrs. Ventris served on the school board and a scholarship in honor of Mr. Ventris is awarded to a senior each year).
West Valley High School is filled with teachers and teaching assistants who show up each day ready to teach us.
Mr. Johnson has dedicated his life to teaching math at West Valley. Week after week he not only expected a lot of us, but expected a lot of himself. He made himself available after school for evening study sessions to make sure we understood the math, when we weren’t sure we would ever get it. He is now retiring after 30 years of excellence in teaching.
Mrs. Callahan works tirelessly throughout the year to provide an outstanding AP European History class that gave us a taste of the rigors of college and taught us far more than we thought we could learn. She also makes sure the dance team has the ability to be one of the best in the area and coordinates both the fundraising and the dance routines.
Coach Whitney, Coach O’Neal and Coach Nilles, three examples of dedicated West Valley coaches, prepare our athletes to be as successful on the field as they can be. Being the smallest school in the GSL, they taught us to have the biggest “heart” in the GSL and to never give up. Playing with big hearts and persevering regardless of the odds will serve us well our entire lives.
We are excited for the new high school and the community’s support for building it. We will be the last class to graduate from the “old” West Valley High School. When we return we will recognize parts of it because of the intentional ties to the past that the architects have designed into the building. Our new building will provide the platform for future generations of graduating West Valley students to have facilities that will serve them and the community well.
Our community has provided us the teachers, facilities and activities that have made our education outstanding. We have been given every opportunity to succeed and we need to make sure we make the most of the opportunities that have been given to us. Our success will largely be measured by what we give back to our community, as has been modeled for us by our West Valley community.
We don’t say thank you enough and we too often don’t appreciate the efforts of others on our behalf. Now it’s our turn to be part of a community, contributing to West Valley, Millwood, Spokane, or somewhere else in the world.
The West Valley community taught us to share, taught us to care and taught us to help those around us to succeed. And when people ask us where did we learn to be like this and why do we do this, we can talk about our West Valley Community and the life-long lessons we have been taught through example by all of you.
On behalf of the Class of 2006 – thank you.