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Schools

A Future of Hope, A Past to Remember

El Rodeo eighth graders celebrate the end of middle school.

Moving speeches and musical performances marked the end of eighth grade for El Rodeo's class of 2010.

As graduates marched down the auditorium aisles toward the stage—arm in arm—the audience bared witness to the closeness felt by the departing students.

"It felt absolutely amazing to walk into the auditorium and see adults and kids that I knew just smiling and clapping for our graduation," eighth-grader Alex Marmureanu said. "I'm definitely going to miss El Rodeo and all the memories."

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After a welcome from graduating students Ellie Dubin and Brandon Neman, the audience had the pleasure of listening to talented eighth-graders perform music and sing. David Yona and Alex Massachi played piano, while Soraya Sadeghi performed on her harp. Ellie Dubin sang a solo of Breakaway followed by a vocal performance of Seasons of Love by Anthony Lofaso, Evan Rennie, and Roman Zaragosa.

Eighth-grader Simon Pourat reminded his fellow graduates in the first speech of the night about the importance of motivation, effort and commitment. Brandon Neman, who spoke next, shared his excitement about entering high school. He said he was "ready to soar at Beverly." Alex Marmureanu delivered the third and final student speech to the audience, referring to the class of 2010 as "a big family," and El Rodeo as the "most amazing school ever."

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As the class of 2010 leaves El Rodeo, so too does Principal Pat Escalante, who delivered a moving speech about her time at the school and reminded students to "solve problems, not have them."

The event came to a close as the graduates marched out of the auditorium to Pomp and Circumstance and moved towards their new futures at the high school and beyond.

"I started El Rodeo in kindergarten and I'm going to miss this amazing school" said graduating eighth-grader Alex Massachi. "But I am very excited to move on to the high school and start a new chapter of my life"

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