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Dear Progressive, I hope all is well with all the staff and students at the school! I thought I would get in touch with you via email to keep you in the loop and to let you know of my progress in high school. I would like to visit soon and talk with you in person so hopefully that can be arranged!! Anyway, this past Friday, September 13, I was called down to the principal’s office and received some pretty good news: I was announced as the Class of 2014 East Meadow High School valedictorian! I devoted a massive amount of time and energy to my school work throughout my three years at the high school and I’m glad it paid off. But what’s more are the intangibles I’ve gathered and reinforced along the way. You see, a curious thing happened on that Friday that sticks out in my mind: as I (and the salutatorian, who was in the same class) received the phone call to see the principal, my calculus class let out a deafening scream. We returned later on to find our teacher crying because the salutatorian and I were so well-received. She said in other years kids were snotty to each other as well as quite vindictive and competitive; it was refreshing, she said, to see our classmates genuinely happy and excited for us. What followed that day was an onslaught of congratulations from friends and peers, even from people I had never met. And as I reflected on that day, I realized it was made special by all of the people who were happy for me, all of the people who I’ve come to know and regard as friends during my brief time at the high school. And it made me think of all I took from Progressive, all the things that went into making me not just a knowledge-hungry student but a wholesome, decent person. Those lessons have been with me since I left your doors, they have accompanied me throughout high school, and they will remain a part of me until I’m gone. I just wanted to thank you for all of that and more, for helping me develop into who I’ve become today. Now I realize that this is a bit more than a quick update (I have a tendency to go overboard once I get started) but there are still things I’d like to express to you, gratitude and all, that I haven’t mentioned in this email. They will come in another email, in a letter, or, better yet, in person. So thank you once again. As far as the update goes, there’s a little left. I was selected to participate in the All-State music festival in Rochester, as part of the symphony orchestra; quite a prestigious honor, I am told. Also, I received word that I was chosen as a National Merit Semifinalist for my score of 226 out of 240 on the PSAT. I now have the chance to send in an application and win scholarship money as a finalist. Being that you know my SAT score, I can only surprise you with what I received on the SAT II Subject Tests: an 800 in both U.S. History and Physics. In the near future I will be applying to colleges and organizing fundraisers as the president of two honor societies (Science and Tri-M for music). As it stands, I will likely apply Early Action to Harvard, and am seriously considering University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Stony Brook, Binghamton, and possibly Haverford or NYU. Even with Friday’s announcement, I must continue to work hard, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Please send my regards to your family as well as to Benay, Joann, and all of the teachers (your extended family :]). I will continue to keep in touch and hope to see you soon!!! –Nathan Siegelaub, graduate (attending Harvard)
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