Wallkill wraps up another school year

By Ted Remsnyder
Posted 6/26/19

School’s out for summer for Wallkill students, and the high school Class of 2019 will have their big evening on Friday as graduation ceremonies will be held at the school’s multi-purpose …

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Wallkill wraps up another school year

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School’s out for summer for Wallkill students, and the high school Class of 2019 will have their big evening on Friday as graduation ceremonies will be held at the school’s multi-purpose athletic field. Regents exams wrap up for students on June 26, with the big night slated for two days later.

Moving up ceremonies for students began on June 21 at Plattekill Elementary and the festivities continued over the last week.

“It all leads up to the culmination with our high school graduates, which we’re really excited about,” Wallkill Superintendent Kevin Castle said. “They’ve worked real hard since kindergarten, maybe even before that. Now they have the ability to be recognized with that diploma that’s going to give them so many opportunities as they leave our walls. We hope the weather will cooperate on Friday night. I’m sure it will, we have to be optimistic. This is an exciting time of the year.”

During a Board of Education meeting held on June 20 in the high school library, the board set a host of appointments for the next school year and bid farewell to student representative Kaitlyn Bordone, who provided the council with student reports throughout the school year. The board presented the graduating senior with a Wallkill alumni sweatshirt. “She was a great liaison between the board and the student body,” Castle said. “We’re real pleased with (High School Principal) Mr. (Joseph) Salamone’s selection. She did an excellent job and we wish her well. She shared with us that she’s going to be a math teacher, so we were very excited to hear that. It’s a big part of our board having that student board member. We’ve had much success with that and we’re real excited that we continue to have a member from the student body on our board.”

The board session marked the last meeting for the school year for the council a month after the board and administration put forth a 2019-2020 school budget that was approved by 67 percent of taxpayers. “It starts from the top, which is the board,” Castle said. “They’re positive role models to all stakeholders in the district. We share the same vision, which ultimately has a positive impact on students. They’re good people. They have student-first backgrounds, which is very beneficial to the school district. It creates a positive outcome for our students.”