To all CCUSD Staff & Parents:
Congratulations goes out to the Class of 2022 on their graduation! This current senior class is unique and I commend each one of them for their grit, resiliency and perseverance the last four years at Cactus Shadows High School. Their high school experience has been significant and I believe it has prepared them to achieve success and happiness into the future.
With their 4 year experience almost in the rear view mirror, graduates can now reflect on the challenges they experienced while in high school. Many times challenges, seen through a long term lens, present valuable opportunities for good, and these challenges will hopefully help our graduates be better people going out into the world and pursuing their passion. They are doing so with the support of their parents, family members, friends, teachers, coaches and others around them.
I would like to make note and congratulate the Class of 2022 on the following accomplishments:
- The class of 2022 consists of approximately 460 graduating seniors.
- Congratulations to Sophia Barnedo and Bryden Kaminsky on being named Co-Valedictorians. They each had a weighted GPA of 4.850. Ryan Toughill was named Salutatorian and was also named a National Merit Finalist.
- There were 13 graduates who were in the International Baccalaureate Program, 12 that were in the Early College Program and 27 seniors attending EVIT.
- There were 1,558 Advanced Placement courses taken and 631 Dual Enrollment classes taken over the past four years by the Class of 2022.
- As of this article, we have 10 student athletes who have signed to continue on playing at the collegiate level.
- Among the many team and individual athletic and fine arts accolades that occurred this school year with the Class of 2022 are the following:
- Girls Swim: Mady Bachmeier took 1st place in the 100 Backstroke and 200 IM
- Girls Volleyball: Placed 4th in the State reaching the semi finals
- Girls Golf: Team took 3rd in the State, Chloe Tarkany tied for 6th individual in the State
- Boys Golf: 2 players individually went to state playoffs
- Girls Basketball: Reached the Quarterfinals
- In band, Devin Pease (clarinet) and Katie Rink (tenor saxophone) were the top 2 chairs in Regionals for their respective instruments
- CSHS senior, Ethan Thorpe, was the CSHS Excellence Award recipient and led the Pledge of Allegiance at a Governing Board meeting.
Finally, as part of the Superintendent’s Challenge, which involves students committing to serve in the community and giving of their time freely through volunteering, Senior Elizabeth Hord accumulated 658 volunteer service hours over her four years at Cactus Shadows High School. Fifty seniors participated in this Superintendent’s Challenge and the Class of 2022 contributed a total of close to 9,000 volunteer hours in bettering the local community over the past 4 years of their high school career.
There will be many more recognitions and accolades to come.
Again, congratulations to the Class of 2022 for all your successes.
My challenge and invitation to them, and all of us for that matter, is to strive to find meaning in looking outside of themselves through volunteering and service opportunities. Our lives are more full when we value service to others and the relationships in our lives.
One Team.
Sincerely,
Cort Monroe, Ed.D.
Superintendent
