Shruti Swaminathan
Will attend Presentation High School, entering with Honors

"Goodbyes hurt the most when people leave without saying them." - Anonymous

Mrs. De Leonibus asked me to give a speech here, today, as one of the graduates of Form 5, so I decided it would be the perfect way to say goodbye to the group that has done so much for me since the day I entered it as a wary, studious nine year old with a pretty much non-existent social life.

All the other students accepted me without any question as one of the people would just "exist", and I gradually became a part of the "Delphi Family". I made friends who would stay at my side for years: Pooja K., Nisha N., Isabella S., Ariana D., Chris C., Alexander C., Daniel D. and many others who are just an extension of family to me.

Mrs. Kumar said, "It’s amazing how much things can change in a year, right?" when I graduated Form 3, three hundred and sixty-two days after I began the Form. Well, God now gave me the chance to say it right back to her.

During the course of this one year, I feel all of my classmates, including myself to some extent, have matured greatly. We’ve all learned to apply all the rules of manners that Mrs. Kumar incessantly drilled into us and I believe each of us have developed our own characters immensely.

Some people also say that "friends, over time, become a part of you." Well, I believe these years in Delphi have given me opportunities to learn from each one.

I learned to let go, and not take everything literally from Pooja, how to have fun once in awhile while still doing work from Alex and Chris, how to take things lightly from Anton, and the list goes on and on.

Now, to move on to the thanking. This will be a long one, I assure you.

Firstly, I would like to thank Mrs. Kumar, for supporting me this entire time, not only as my teacher, but as my friend’s mom as well. I would like to thank her as well for making me admit that I was wrong once in a while, and then making me laugh it off, saying that it was not important. I thought long and hard about this, because there is so much to say, but not all of it can be said. Thank you… really.

Next, I would like to thank my family. All of you, Mom, Dad, Swati, Aunt Srivi, Uncle Sankar and little Karthik – all of you have done something to help me along. Mom and Dad, you brought me here after the public school attempt failed miserably, telling me this would be the right place. Well, it was, and I can thank you for that.

I would also like to thank my aunt and uncle, for all the evenings when you would listen to me talk on and on about school. I would also like to thank both of you for always being ready with an answer for the many questions I had. For Uncle Sankar, you always were willing to help and teach if needed. I’m very thankful for your help, as your knowledge of economics helped me through a tight spot in Math and Money and Exchange.

And for Karthik, you always insisted that I was right, even if you didn’t have a clue what anyone was talking about. You were always my little warrior, and I know you will still be. I wish you the best when you come to Delphi next year, and I know you will amaze everyone with your high level of happiness and counting ability.

Swati. What can I say about her? She’s been the perfect study partner for the last one and a half years. The task of doing the "talking" drills on Understanding Sentences with me, reassuring me, and telling me there was no way I couldn’t pass the exam when I had drilled so much. She didn’t even have to help me; the fact that she did shows, in my opinion, the true meaning of sibling relationship. I don’t even have to say it, but she knows I’d do anything for her.

I would like to thank every one of my classmates. Yes, every single one of th other students that has shared a classroom, a desk, a table, or even just a pencil or pen with me. Thank you to you all.

Also, I would like to thank Ms. Tryforos, for helping me through an entire Form in less than one and a half years, and for encouraging me even after I was long out of her class. I would like to thank Mrs. Friend and Mrs. Blakley, for letting me come into their classrooms and do any drill or any observation I needed on their students.

To all the rest of the staff, I believe all of you, at some point in time, have helped me or inspired me in some way. That little bit of help or that inspiration you gave me is infinitely valuable. In the staff, I would especially like to thank Mr. Alden, for showing me that I could sing, and Mrs. De Leonibus for helping me increase my self-confidence and telling me I could do it even when I felt there was no way I could.

I would also like to thank our Dean, Mrs. Wehner, for getting me through countless exams and urging me onwards repeatedly, and Mrs. Agrillo, for taking me under her wing, and Mr. Raspberry for not only teaching me Spanish, but teaching me how to draw "wonderfully good tables".

Mr. Hess was also an important figure in my education, showing me extra things that the checksheet did not call for when I was on lab courses, laughing at some of the funny stories I brought in for Current Events and acknowledging my good work on Word Clearing Cycles.

I would also like to thank Mr. Chambers, for his witty answers and unlimited knowledge when I was stretching the limits of everyone’s patience level with the last problem of Algebra 1A.

And lastly, I would like to thank Mrs. Green. She was one of the people I considered most influential in my student life here at Delphi, and as my math teacher, costume director and Headmistress, inspired me to follow whatever career I chose and do well in the field.

And after saying all of this, in about three months, I will be on my way to high school, afraid once again of the new school. But I know for sure that the skills I learned in Delphi will help me start anew.

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Claire Malloy
Will attend St. Francis High School Graduation

Speech not yet posted.
Please check back.

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Pooja Kumar
Will attend Archbishop Mitty High School, entering with Honors in Mathematics

Hello, my name is Pooja Kumar. I really can’t believe that I have graduated out of Form 5. It seems like only yesterday that I walked into this school as a young five-year-old girl who wanted to join Beginners 1 and become a part of the Delphi family.

The data that I got from all of the Forms has helped me in tremendous amounts both in school and out of school. Now here comes the fun part. There are SO many people that I would like to take the time to thank.

Firstly, I would like to thank my parents. My mom for being a really great teacher and helping me throughout my student and social life here at Delphi, and my dad for helping me when I got stuck and for always being ready to help me when I really needed it.

I would also like to thank every single teacher I have had. From Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Raiburn, to Ms. Tryforos and my mom, Mrs. Kumar. I definitely couldn’t have done any of this without their help.

I would also like to thank Mrs. De Leonibus and Mr. Alden for being great play directors. It was really fun to work on the plays with them. I would also like to thank the Examiners because without them, I would probably still be in Beginners 1.

I would really like to thank Mrs. Wehner, the Dean. She has given me many of my Form exams. During almost all of them, she has made me feel as if I could really do it, even when I doubted it myself.

I also want to thank Mrs. Green for being a great math teacher and an amazing Headmistress. She was the one who sat down with me to set my targets and helped me finish all my math ahead of target. She helped me get onto the Algebra courses.

I want to genuinely thank every single one of my friends - the new ones and the old ones – every single one of them. They helped me loosen up when I was getting really tensed up, and they helped me get back on track when I started to loosen up too much. They have always been by my side. I will never forget any of them.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone here that made my time here in Delphi enjoyable and fun.

My time here in Delphi has been truly amazing. I learned many things academically, and many things as a person that I could really use in my day to day life.

I have been in Delphi for what seems like forever. Though I am happy to have graduated, I am really sad to have to leave this school.

Thank You.

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Bahar Ghaderi

Hi, my name is Bahar Ghaderi and I am 13 years old. My experience here at Delphi started when I was about four years old in Beginners 1. I have done the full Delphi program. I have really enjoyed my time here at Delphi and am sad that I must leave.

Graduating Form 5 meant a lot to me. This is because I worked very hard on the Form, and came to feel that I can do anything that I really want. I really liked the many different kinds of courses such as Chemistry, Biology, History and English. This let me see what kinds of things I would like to study later on in my life.

I would like to greatly thank all of my cool teachers, starting from Beginner 1 with Mrs. Weaver, Beginner 2 with Mrs. Raiburn, Form 1 with Mrs. Meaza, and also Mrs. Kumar, Ms. Kertchem and Ms. Tryforos. Without the help of these awesome teachers, I would not be where I am now. Mrs. Green was a very helpful math teacher and I will never forget all the things that she taught me. And of course Mrs. Wehner and Mr. Chambers were the best Examiners ever!

I would also like to thank my mom, Fariba, and my dad, Sam. They have always supported me and my ideas, and have really helped me break through any barriers that I ran into. And last but definitely not least, I would like to thank my friends and classmates for helping me when I was down and encouraging me when I needed it most. Thank you!

I love you guys and I will really, truly miss you!