A packed house was at the Sanford Middle School cafeteria on Tuesday for the school's JMG program closing ceremony.
The ceremony was to celebrate students' success and hard work in the program.
SMS students, families, and staff were treated to a spaghetti dinner to kick off the ceremony, following a singing of the National Anthem from students Courtney Orr, Sophia Randall, Kenna Robinson, and Leah Lagueux.
After dinner, SMS students Jon Brien, Kaylee Tarnowski and Ziva Green gave opening remarks before 8th-grader Ella Mottolo introduced the night's guest speaker, Support and Transition Room teacher Barbara Noone. Ella said Barbara is someone who is always willing to listen and give advice to students. She also mentioned that Barbara had a laugh that you could hear from all the way down the hall.
In her speech, Barbara discussed the importance of putting in the time and effort into your work and also praised the students in the JMG program.
Several students in the program then had the opportunity to speak about their experiences in the JMG program. Since joining the program, 7th-grader Ysebella Mitchell discussed her grades, social skills, and public speaking improvements. She discussed how JMG specialist Tara Houle helped provide her with the necessary support to help her achieve her goals.
Ysebella said one of her favorite memories of the year was attending the Maine Action Youth Leadership Summit. The summit allowed her to tap into the improving communication skills she had learned through the program to talk to students from other schools.
7th-grader Sophia Randall said she was initially worried about the challenges she might face when she first joined the program. But her fears quickly disappeared when she learned how fun the program can be. She talked about how quickly her communication skills improved throughout the year.
She also learned how to step out of her comfort zone. Sophia said one of her favorite memories from the year was attending the Haunted Woods event hosted by the JMG program last fall. The event allowed her to work together and connect ideas with students.
7th-grader Kenna Robinson said she was looking to participate in kindness acts, such as meeting with community people or simply getting to meet her teachers, before joining the program. Her joining JMG helped fulfill that promise. She also mentioned how the program has helped with her organizational skills, allowing her to keep her grades up.
JMG specialist Tara Houle followed the student speeches with recognitions before wrapping up the ceremony with a reflection of the year and thank you's.