A Standard Introduction Just Won’t Do: Principal Jeff Calden Addresses 2020 Graduates

Good morning and welcome to the first EVER SLV Graduation Parade! Today we celebrate the San Lorenzo Valley High School Graduating class of 2020. My name is Jeff Calden and I am proud to be the principal of SLV High.

This morning we are being broadcast live on KBCZ.org. Finally, KBCZ is filming as well today and you can find that on KBCZ Facebook Live. Huge thanks to KBCZ for all of their help making this day even more special for the Graduating Class of 2020.

I have a few more ‘thank yous’ to give this morning. Thank you to the school board members and District Office staff for their support this year. I want to thank our incredible group of SLV High School teachers and staff who have worked so diligently to support this amazing group of Seniors. And a special shout out to all of the teachers and staff who showed up here today to cheer for and support these graduates. 

And I would also like to individually thank Senior Counselor Leslie Burns for giving her heart to this class and for fighting for them every step of the way.

And finally, I want to thank our parents and families who are here to celebrate the SLVHS Graduating Class of 2020.

This year is different, and a standard introduction just won’t do. This class has endured the most difficult Senior year of my 26 years in education. When we started together in August, who could  have thought we would end the year this way? However, I am proud and privileged to have gone through this craziness with this particular group of Seniors.

They are the children born into the world soon after 9-11 and who will venture out into the world on the heels of a global pandemic. This group is tough. They are battle-hardened, and they are resilient. They will go forward and do great things with their lives because they know how to push through when times are tough. They are 200 teenagers who lived 24-7 quarantined with their parents and siblings for months on end. 

If they can do that…they can do ANYTHING!

And this group is special to me in a personal way as well. The Class of 2020 has the grand honor and dubious distinction of being the first, last, and only class of SLV students who will EVER have had me as their principal for SEVEN years in a row! Yes – they came to me in August of 2013 as nervous, fidgety sixth grade children and they depart today as strong, confident high school graduates – who have seen it all – and are ready to go out and make their mark upon the world.

It was my honor to be part of their journey.

Congratulations, Seniors! Not just for what you have accomplished, but for who you have become. And without further ado, we are here to celebrate the Graduating Class of 2020. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!