By KRISTI MAYFIELD
From the thundering applause as they stepped onto the field to the smiles on the faces of the graduates, it was clear that El Portal Middle School is proud of its students. With more than 150 students being promoted in a Thursday evening, May 29 ceremony, there was a lot to celebrate. As Principal Seamus Eddy shared, “We are so proud of this class, of what you have accomplished and of what great things you will do as you head to Escalon High School.”
Diego Zarate, Student Body President, shared his joy along with some laughs with his fellow graduates as he led the crowd in the Flag Salute.
Eddy went on to honor and thank the educators at El Portal for their time, hard work and endless contributions. In addition to teachers, many students were honored including those that received awards for the following: Physical Fitness, Exemplary Citizenship, English Language Development Reclassification, Exceptional Growth and Academic Excellence, with a select few being recognized for achieving 4.0 GPAs for their entire scholastic career at El Portal. English teacher Danielle Berchtold presented the award for the ELD Reclassification, sharing that 18 percent of El Portal students learned English as a second language and throughout their time at El Portal, they have been working diligently and can now begin their high school careers in classes with their peers as they have officially been reclassified.
As El Portal student speaker Maria Calderon-Montoya took the stage to share some special memories of her time at El Portal, she used her words to paint the story of “El Portal, Our Canvas,” as she described where they started way back in sixth grade and how far they have come now that they are graduating and moving on to high school. Highlighting some of the difficulties as they navigated middle school, Calderon-Montoya reminded them that even through adversity, the Panther class of 2025 persevered and now they are ready to begin their new chapter at EHS. As she stated so eloquently, they have completed one canvas and now they are ready to begin painting their new high school canvases, which are filled with hope, dreams and beautiful colors.
Awarding of diplomas was conducted by the Escalon Unified School District Board of Trustees, with Principal Eddy then formally presenting members of the class as eighth grade graduates, ready to enter Escalon High School in the fall as members of the Class of 2029.
