2010-2011 All School President Danny DeLeon ’11 welcomed students back to campus during the opening assembly. Here are his remarks.

Good morning.

My name is Danny Deleon and I am your all school president for this year. I just want to start off by welcoming all the new students to our community: Welcome. Returning students don’t worry, you guys are still special so welcome back to all of you. I’m glad to see so many familiar faces and from what I’ve heard most of you have enjoyed summer break which is good. Sadly all things come to an end but its time to take on the 2010-2011 school year. Honestly, I’m very excited to have such a talented group of students be a part of our community. We have a brand new group of kids that compliment the attributes of our returning students very well. We have kids who have won public speaking awards, participated in AIDS Walk Boston, created their own video games, and students who have excelled in academics and athletics. Just so that we get a better picture of some other activities our incoming students have been recognized for, here is a short list of achievements:

Volunteer work, all-honors, leadership award recipients, fund raising for abused animals, directing community theater groups, and the list goes on.

As you can see we have students who have many different interests and hobbies but its always important to remember that we are a family. That we should always be kind, humble, and accepting of different backgrounds, cultures, religions, learning styles, etc. Overall I’m thrilled to know we have such a hard working and passionate group for my senior year and hopefully what we achieve this year will set the stage for years to come.

That being said, the work starts now. From the moment you all stepped onto this campus you made a commitment to me, your peers, your teachers and yourself, that you will try, to the best of your ability, to make this year a success. So let’s talk about success for a moment. Is there a specific definition for success or do we all hold a different standard for it? I believe success is what you want it to be. It can be an A on a math test or a championship banner for soccer. Success can be effectively running a club or even making an effort to come out of your comfort zone to grow as an individual. Beaver is the perfect place to achieve some of these things. I’ve been here since the sixth grade and I’ve seen this school go through many changes but what never changes is the warm community this place strives to be. That is why I highly encourage all of you to make an effort to go beyond your comfort zones, try something new. If you’ve never been involved in student government, why not start this year? If you’ve never played basketball competitively, why not try out for the team? If you’ve never taken advance science, why not push yourself and challenge yourself to take that class? Just like Mr. Brooks Says, “Competition breads excellence.” We should all push ourselves and our peers to be the best we can be so that we can improve the effectiveness that Beaver has on us as individuals.

I can’t stress enough how many opportunities exist here at Beaver. You all will see that as the year progresses teachers and even parents will most likely be on your back about leadership roles. It’s important to know that being a leader isn’t necessarily standing up in front of a group of kids like I am right now. There are many different forms of leadership. You can lead by example. In fact, a leader can be someone who is there to listen to someone’s problems. A leader can be a person who urges their peers to do the right thing; someone who notices an issue in their community and decides to take action to create a positive change. I encourage all of you to be the best you can be. Because trust me it will make this 2010-2011 school year a great one. I hope to get to know as many of you as possible and please if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to approach me and I’ll be more than happy to help. Thank you guys for being patient while I spoke and I’m hoping you all took something constructive away from this. So on that note, welcome back to school and lets make this year one to remember.