Wednesday was a busy one at the Manteca Unified School District.
Eleven school sites held promotion ceremonies honoring their eighth-grade students.
Included were the following:
Principal Stacy Valencia and Vice Principal Heather Gutierrez announced the special awards.
Neil Hafley School
Some 88 eighth graders made up Neil Hafley School’s Class of 2023.
Leading the way at Wednesday’s celebration event were Maxx Davenport, Leonardo Escobar, Alondra Espinoza Flores, Gabriel Estabillo, Esmeralda Garcia Gabriel, Shelby Lopez, Arianna Nibler, Alysia Sinclair, Jacob Thomas, Jayleen Tuggles, and Kristian Willis – they maintained 4.0 GPAs in all three trimesters to earn the right to wear the red and gold cords.
Azul Orosco welcomed those in attendance while Arianna Nibler and Araya Carson shared the honors of doing the staff introductions.
The roll call speech was conducted by Abbigail Guillermo, Addison Holguin, and Dakota Canady.
Principal Lori Guzman-Alvarez presented her eighth graders for presentation of their promotion certificates.
Stella Brockman School
This was Principal Candace Espinola’s 15th promotional event at Stella Brockman School.
She welcomed the breezy comfortable conditions along with the families, guests, and friends for this year’s promotion ceremony held in the outdoor quad area.
They came to acknowledge the accomplishments of the 87 class members who earned their certificates for promotion.
Heading the pack were Grace Alvarez, Ryan Alves, Jazmine Calderon Banda, Damian Densmore, Ngan Do, Rachel Dole, Kevin Garcia, Tavir Kaur, Luna Lopez Villalobos, Majesty Mack, Roslin Mallorca, Taylor Miller, Dallin Murray, Elias Muzquiz, Ariel Perez, Andrea Posada Leiva, Satvir Singh, Ivy Sutton, Feben Tesdandrias, and Adrianna Vargas.
They were members of the 4.0 Honor Roll.
As for the program, Jasmine Calderon led in the flag salute. She along with Grace Alvarez and Ariel Perez performed the Star-Spangled Banner.
Class President Dallin Murray served as the student speaker while Mallorca had the honors of announcing the class gift.
Lincoln School
This was the final day of elementary school for the 59 classmates at Lincoln School.
They were given a sendoff to remember in front of their loved ones in the school’s multi-purpose room.
Principal Randi Fowzer noted that she has high expectations for this group. “(You’re) a few years away from getting a high school diploma,” she said.
She along with Vice Principal Melissa Hernandez and her teaching staff announced the awards and honor roll recipients.
The Distinguished Scholar Award for the top academic students went to Edwin Gutierrez Ortega and Andrei Mae Maglinao.
Tristien Gatdula was a double winner. He took the Music Award and, along with Alexis Martin, earned the MUSD Outstanding Character Award.
Gutierrez Ortega was also the Math & Science Award winner.
Gatdula, in addition, was the student speaker. Aveline Perez kicked off the promotion ceremony by leading in the flag salute and welcoming those in attendance.
Sequoia School
Sequoia Elementary School honored 94 eighth graders in the outdoor back-top area.
Ariana Angel, Na’ima Calderon, Alan Chen, and Aaron Luis Dimal were among the top academic students for the Class of 2023. All four maintained 4.0 GPAs during the past two years.
Sara Dutra and Kailee Jackson were 4.0 students in their eighth-grade year.
Dutra had the honors of leading in the Pledge of Allegiance and sharing in the student speech along with class President Angel and Calderon.
Vice Principal Leif Utler handed out the Recognition of Honor Medals while Principal Denise Buske provided the Academic Excellence Acknowledgement.
Junior High teachers Carol Bloomfield and Larry Cardoso handled the District Recognition Awards.
Nile Garden School
The eighth-grade class at Nile Garden School had 101 students listed in the Promotion Event program.
Leading in the flag salute were Ruby Saucedo and Keira Danley.
Nikitha Muruganagajan spoke about “Getting Lost in the Memories” and Molly Ludwig talked about “What the Future Holds.”
Another student speaker, Claire Carroll, reflected on “Nothing Flies Faster Than 9 Years.”
Principal Deborah Noceti-Ward and her vice principals, Alejandra Lopez and Tracy Beck, distributed the Certificates of Promotion along with the awards.