{"id":5392,"date":"2016-06-17T11:14:02","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T15:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=5392"},"modified":"2017-05-30T10:05:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T14:05:27","slug":"pahs-hosts-ceremony-west-building-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/pahs-hosts-ceremony-west-building-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"PAHS hosts ceremony for West Building graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re here to celebrate 10 students \u2014 10 very special students to my heart and I\u2019m sure to all of yours,\u201d began Wayne Varney, special education coordinator at Princess Anne High School (PAHS).<\/p>\n

\"Varney<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents who come to the West Building at Princess Anne arrive to us with challenges they face daily that most of us will never know what they go through,\u201d Varney continued. \u201cThese individuals come to school with a desire to learn that is somewhat unmatched by anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

That desire to learn was celebrated by Varney, his West Building colleagues, PAHS administrators and an auditorium full of guests at PAHS June 15.<\/p>\n

The special education department at PAHS serves students with moderate to severe disabilities in an area of the school known as the \u201cWest Building.\u201d Staff prepare students to function as independently as possible through community-based instruction, vocational training, domestic classes and physical education\/recreational activities. West Building students and staff also manage the school\u2019s coffee shop and participate in school-sponsored activities and clubs.<\/p>\n

PAHS hosted a special ceremony for its West Building Class of 2016 graduates who would not be able to attend the high school\u2019s commencement at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.<\/p>\n

Despite the smaller venue, there was no shortage of pomp and circumstance \u2013 a processional, music caps, gowns, speeches, photographs and plenty of applause.<\/p>\n

\"Caroline<\/p>\n

Upstaging the celebratory surroundings, however, was the enthusiasm of the graduates themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy graduation!\u201d remarked one proud graduate from her seat several times to the delight of her peers and invited guests.<\/p>\n

Before PAHS principal Daniel Smith issued diplomas to students, Varney took time to recognize the unique qualities and talents of each graduate.<\/p>\n

He noted Mariah\u2019s piano playing skills and Malik\u2019s fashion sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t really see his get up under that robe,\u201d said Varney, \u201cbut Malik is [always] impeccably dressed and he works very, very hard in his vocational endeavors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Malik\"<\/p>\n

Cailtin was recognized for being a voracious reader and Neil for always speaking his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then there\u2019s Tyler,\u201d continued Varney, \u201cthrough all of the challenges Tyler faces he\u2019s always willing to cheer up someone else when he passes them in the hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tyler\"<\/p>\n

Varney noted, \u201cPeggy\u2019s only been here for two years, but in that time she\u2019s won over the hearts of all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how could we forget Caroline,\u201d said Varney. \u201cCaroline has a fantastic memory and she is so organized. I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to do as far as keeping track of our social events and everyone\u2019s birthdays. She will be sorely missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"varney<\/p>\n

The bittersweet sentiments expressed by Varney were shared by all PAHS staff who have gotten to know the students well over their many years at the school. In the state of Virginia, qualifying students are eligible to receive educational services though the age of 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them have been here for seven years because they start here at around age 14 and go until 22,\u201d said Sharon Boudreau, a PAHS special education teacher who took photos at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor these children, who are graduating at the age of 22, they have been in school for 20 years. That\u2019s an awesome thing. It\u2019s one of the biggest days in their lives and in their parents\u2019 lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Boudreau captured each moment of the important day as students crossed the stage to receive their diplomas from Smith; congratulatory handshakes from Veleka Gatling, executive director of the Office of Programs for Exceptional Children, and Daniel Keever, senior executive director of High Schools; and a final hug from Varney.<\/p>\n

\"Veleka<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have earned something no one can take from you, a high school diploma,\u201d Smith told students before officially declaring them graduates of the PAHS Class of 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a right to be proud of this great accomplishment,\u201d Smith continued, \u201cand I know I speak for everyone in this room in telling you how proud we are of each and every one of you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dozens of proud parents, relatives, students and staff celebrated with graduates after the ceremony. There were more photos taken and, to the delight of the graduates, lots of cake.<\/p>\n

\"celebrate<\/p>\n

Graduation is significant for any high school senior, but the milestone for West Building students is especially meaningful to Varney and the PAHS staff.<\/p>\n

Varney said, \u201cWe hope that the experiences they\u2019ve had here have been as pleasurable for them as it has been for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re here to celebrate 10 students \u2014 10 very special students to my heart and I\u2019m sure to all of yours,\u201d began Wayne Varney, special education coordinator at Princess Anne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-5392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-princess-anne-high"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5400,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5392\/revisions\/5400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}