By MIRIAM BONAM
EC Valedictory Speech
 Dr. Smith, Mr. Davis, board members, faculty, family, friends, and most importantly, the Class of 2009. This is a very special day.
   A lot of us have been together for 13 years, and some of us joined in along the way, but no matter what the case, we have learned a lot of things throughout our years in school.
   I came across a book by Robert Fulghum called “All I Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten.” The author states “All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.” If you have read the book, you know that Fulghum starts out with a list of lessons that we have learned and can live by. And he ends the list by saying,” Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.”
   Well…for him…That may be true, but I think it would be a shame to say all we ever needed to know was learned in kindergarten, because we’ve learned quite a few things in high school.
   So I took a list from Robert Fulghum’s book, and revamped it a little to make my own list. I call it, “You learned all of these things in kindergarten, but All you really need to know, you learned at East Canton High School.”
For all of you here…these are the things we have learned.
1. Share Everything. Sharing answers, however, is  not acceptable.
2. Play Fair and don’t hit people, unless you are a member of the football team, because in that game, hitting people is totally acceptable, and even praised.
   3. Put things back where you found them…especially in the cafeteria, because its ridiculous to leave trash on the floor…just ask Mr. Hall.
   4. Don’t take things that aren’t yours…unless it is your best friend’s planner, and you need it because you lost yours…and you really have to use the restroom…then it’s okay.
   5. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody…. There are many other instances in which it is appropriate to say “I’m sorry” as well… like if you accidentally utter the words “shut up” to another classmate during Mrs. Raber’s English class.
   6. Wash Your hands before you eat… Or you might end up with Swine Flu.
   7. Flush. I think that one’s kind of self explanatory…but my dad tells me otherwise.
   8. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you… but what is even better is buying Reese goodies from the cafeteria. Because they are delicious.
   9.Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day. Especially the sing and dance part, because not only do you have to have a fine arts credit to graduate, but choir is just fun.
   9.Take a nap every afternoon. But try not to take one during 7th period’s academic paradise with Mr. Bogdan. Because even though he says that he doesn’t have feelings, somewhere inside, he does.
   10. When you go out into to the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Just make sure that you don’t hold hands in the hallway, because our hallways aren’t big enough for that… and because that is classified as PDA, which is strictly prohibited in the student handbook.
   11. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or  why… but we are all like that. Except for now we do know why… It has something to do with the plant hormone auxin and geotropism.
   12. And then remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned- the biggest word of all- look.
 I think that last one is the most important for us today… Look.
   Look around and see the faces of our friends and family who have encouraged us along the way, of the teachers who taught us more things than we will ever be able to recall, of the classmates who are just as excited to start a new chapter as you are. These are the faces that go with the class of 2009.
   Look around. Take them all in… and then cherish the memories that go along with these faces. Because REALLY, all we ever needed to know, we learned here…at ECHS.