News : Vinton-Shellsburg Graduates Class of 2019

Vinton-Shellsburg 2019 Graduating Class Received Diplomas on Sunday

Sunday, the class of 2019 said their final goodbyes to their friends and teachers and joined the community as alumni of the Vinton-Shellsburg School District. (You can see the ceremony here)

The ceremony was filled with many serious as well as lighthearted moments. The speech given by Grace Horst and Sarah Schminke, the student speakers, was a fine mix of both heartfelt wishes and chuckles.  (I've included the text at the end of the article so that you can enjoy some of the chuckles as well!) The two young ladies collected advice from the moms of the graduates to share with the class of 2019.

On a side note, if you haven't been to graduation for a while, you have to go just to see the hats. Gone are the boring mortarboard caps. I've included pictures of a few of those. Probably the winner would have to be of the few I saw, the cap that said, "My human is graduating" with a picture of a dog, or the one that had a basketball hoop mounted on top. I'm not sure, but I bet the graduate may have been on the team. 

At the end of the ceremony, Mr. Kingsbury took a few minutes to recognize two of the graduates that will be going into the armed services as well as those who have served. 

Congratulations to all of you and here's wishing you the very best that life has to offer, and don't forget to call your mom!

Here's a link to the photos.

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The text of the speech given by Grace Horst and Sarah Schminke is below:

S(Sarah Schminke) Thank you Mrs. Hainstock, distinguished members of the school board

G (Grace Horst) And Sarah’s dad,

S and, um, oh, Alex Pladsen wanted us to ask, can we call you Matt now?

G Right, so no. Thank you MR. Kingsbury, and welcome to our parents, families, and most of all the class of 2019!

Both: We did it!

Both It’s finally here!

G Some of our parents are sad,

S like Laurie Ortner and Shelley Patterson.

G And Kyle and Kyla. Some are in disbelief,

S like Julie Pladsen and Jodie Betterton.

G And some of our parents are so happy.

S Like Gerald and Marcy, and……sorry, Grace, I think yours are the only ones.

G But all of our parents

S and grandparents

G and siblings

S and friends

G and teachers and administrators

B are proud!!

S Seven years ago a Shellsburg girl

G And a Vinton girl, one in Mrs Gordon’s class

S And one Mrs. Walker’s, met on the Shellsburg playground.

S Today 95 kids from Vinton

G And Shellsburg

S And Mt Auburn

G And Garrison gather in this gym to celebrate community and scholarship,

S reminisce about the past, and look forward to the future!

S Matt, I mean, Mr Kingsbury, said we are supposed to give you advice. But, I mean, who are WE to give YOU advice.

G So, we consulted the experts.

S Your Moms!

G Regarding your future careers, several moms agreed, as Kristy Phillips, Jack’s mom, said, “You don’t need to have your whole life planned out today.”

S Cassie McClain’s mom, Angie advised, “Pick a career you really enjoy, because you are going to be doing it for a long time.”

G Several of you are already doing what Audra Hootman, Taylor’s mom, advised, “Follow your passion and choose a career you are passionate about.

S Maddie Erhardt wants to be a nurse, Casey Funk, a marketing manager, Isaac Wiley, an ag loans officer and a partner in his family’s hog farm. Sadie Mauer aspires to be a nursing home administrator.

G Lexi Dively will be an attorney and mediator who will eventually own her own law firm. Kaitlyn V a teacher, Kody Vogt a police officer, Claire Smith a Physicians Assistant, and Seth Patterson a Sports Analyst.

S After winning a national wrestling title, Scott Betterton will become a chiropractor.

G I’ve been to the chiropractor and those two things definitely go together.

S Sam Kintzel wants to be a film director.

G Cool! Nolan Haisman wants to own a shoe store.

S No he doesn’t

G (shrug)

G Brock Radeke wants a career in accounting. And Bryce Layton will be a lineman.

S Rylie Davis will study cosmetology and hopefully someday open her own salon. Collin will serve his country in the Marines. Will Dudley plans to go into sales and public relations.

G If the hacker thing doesn’t work out.

S Katie Noren is not quite sure what she wants to do.

G And that’s OK. We did hear from a couple of dads. Grant Ries’ Dad, Paul, still doesn’t know what HE wants to be when HE grows up.

S Oh, geez, that’s kind of scary!

G No, it’s OK! He counseled, “Relax, get up and go to work, maybe we’ll figure it out together.” Which was a little nicer than what my dad said the other day, “Stress? What do you have to be stressed about? I’m still paying for everything. Talk to me in 10 years.”

S Madi Erhardt’s mom, Chelsea and Julie Pladsen, Alex’s mom,

G She’s a saint.

S Katie Noren’s mom, Molly, and Mrs. Steffen, Becca’s mom, all said

Both: BE KIND and MAKE GOOD CHOICES

(clap)

G We could stop right there, but actually, Julie went on to caution: You are young, and you DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING.”

S In all caps, so I think she really wanted to stress that point.

G Julie went on to say, “Whether you continue learning at college, trade school, or step right into a job, HARD WORK will pay off.

S HARD WORK was also in all caps.

S Shelley Haisman, Nolan’s mom, said something similar, but she called it using a “growth mindset” as opposed to a “fixed mindset.” She said a growth mindset person realizes anything can be learned with time, effort, and determination.

G Mr. Patterson, Seth’s dad, as usual, made us think.

S He said, Sleep more than you study, Study more than you party, and Party as much as you possibly can.

Both Get it? J

G Nikki Dudley, Will’s mom, got philosophical. “Intentionally and continually seek out as many different types of cultural and adventurous experiences. Travel, join organizations, eat weird foods, volunteer, backpack, read, listen, observe – do stuff that you’ve never had the chance to and that scares you! Approach your future and the people you meet with an OPEN MIND

S OPEN MIND in all caps

G and allow yourself time and permission to explore and discover more about yourself and the world.”

S Wow, that’s really great advice. Mrs. Steffen would add to that by saying, “If you feel something is unjust, work to change it! Don’t just complain about it, remember the examples of the civil rights activists.”

G She also said VOTE!! VOTE!! VOTE!! VOTE!!

S In all caps, with lots of exclamation points.

G My mom’s best advice for just about everything is YOGA.

S What?

G Stressed out – try yoga, headache – try yoga, backache – yoga, can’t sleep – yoga, can’t poop – yoga.

S Oh. One bit of advice we didn’t hear from our parental survey something my parents are always preaching -

Both Stay active and eat well!

S If you’re heading off to dorm life, I hope you chose your cafeteria, I mean, college, well.

G If you’re being frugal and living at home a few more years – good for you! Mom’s cooking will sustain you.

S Now that you’re legally an adult, though, you may want to at least put your dishes in the sink!

G If you’re moving into your own place,

S with no meal plan and no mom,

Both you’re in our thoughts and prayers.

G We are so happy to have made great memories with you all,

S like bringing butterflies in second grade,

G and having a funeral for a giant caterpillar,

S winning the Vinton Garden Club poetry contest,

G or Mr McNeal’s bridge contest,

Both Singing the fight song every Friday in fourth grade!

S Remember Palo beach in sixth grade?

G Remember whose swim suit top fell off in the water on the 7th grade field trip??

S As Casey Funk’s mom, Monica, says, you are entering a world that is changing faster than we have seen for decades. Lifelong learning will be important in order to keep up with technological advances.

G Adapt quickly and learn to create change of your own.

TAKE PIC

S For better or worse, we are the SELFIE generation. ^ What that means for us, the Class of 2019, is continued communication. We’ll still Snap, and FaceTime, and Insta, and Tweet each other, no matter where in the world we live.

G Parents – you can email and FaceTime and snap and text us, too.

S And we might respond!

G You don’t have to rely on weekly collect or long-distance phone calls.

S Whatever that means?!

G It’s something they had in the 80s.

S Gracie’s grandpa can still text her and ask how to get on Netflix!

G And I’ll tell you, Grandpa, it’s the red Netflix button on the remote!

S Just remember guys, you can also TALK on your phone.

G Which brings us to our number one piece of advice, recommended by several moms

S In all caps

Both UNPLUG

G See the world around you!

S Speak with someone face to face!

G But before you do that,

Both CALL YOUR MOTHER!!

S Thanks!

G And Best of Luck,

Both Class of 2019! 

Click to view photos