Dear Class of 2012, You are the nicest class to pass through here in a very long time. Desi, you became an AP student. Tommy you let those guys know who that IPod belonged to. Daniel, I love seeing your smile. Vernes, your senior project rocks. John, never got to hear your band. Hasmik jan, please don’t give me a parking ticket. Chris R., definitely the most improved player. Bryan, you are the counselor’s therapist. Thanks. Patrick, true grit. Emily, how quietly you found your way to the head of the table. Irina, grace under pressure. Dikran, be true. Gabby, estoy tan orgulloso de ti. Noubar, donate your first academy award to Clark. Ani and Argine, awesome pair. Chris S. she is proud. Kayla and Vahan, best Geometry tutors ever. Orzhen, wish Mr. H could see you now. Randi, set the trends. Jessica, you could run a small country. Nare, fun knowing you. Charles, nice come back. Sarmen, dude. Natalie, community organizer. Anahit and Susanna, I can tell you apart. Armene and Eileen, you had my back. Thanks for all the fun memories. – Ms. Carlson When I think of the Class of 2012 moving on from their time at Clark Magnet I am reminded of a story I once heard. Allow me to paraphrase… A student is walking down the street and falls in a hole. The hole is so deep and the walls are so steep that the student can’t climb out. A doctor passes by and the student shouts up, ‘Hey doc! Can you help me out?’ The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the student shouts up, ‘Father, I’m down in this hole can you help me out?’ The priest writes out a prayer, drops it in the hole and moves on. Then a teacher walks by, ‘Hey, teacher, it’s your student, can you help me out?’ The teacher responds by jumping in the hole. The student exclaims, ‘Teacher, are you stupid? Now we’re both down here.’ The teacher replies, ‘I don’t think I’m stupid, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.’ Congratulations Clark Magnet Class of 2012. Before you leave this campus, take the time to thank your Clark staff for knowing the way out. Measure Twice, Doug Dall Seniors- You drive me nuts and I don’t think I’d have it any other way. I don’t know how I’ll function without a sleeping Avalyan, Mel asking if she can say something and then just saying it without waiting for a response, or Vazgen’s magical ability to make my projector work. Then there are questions that will never be answered. Will Shunt ever realize that I hear everything? What is Arno doing when he is supposed to be in my class? What does the future hold for Jonas and the Vahe(h)s? How does Narine manage to watch all of that reality TV and still keep up with her school work and have a job at the same time? You have taught me more than you will ever know and because I learned so much from you guys, I thought it would only be fair to give you some advice as you enter the next stage of your lives. 1. Be honest with yourself. Some of you have a little trouble making it to class by 8 a.m. (I would write down specific names, but you know who you are) I liked to use the “Double Digit Rule” when scheduling classes. Classes that start in the double digit hours of the morning were ok to sign up for, whereas classes that started in the single digit hours of the morning were not. 2. A lot of things seem like a good idea at the time. Most of them are not. 3. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Do not leave college with any regrets. You’ll…well…regret it. Congratulations to the class of 2012 and to all the soon-to-be Trojans out there, Fight On! Y.O.L.O. – Ms. Childs To the Class of 2012: What a fun class you’ve been! You made Clark a better place, and now you will make the world a better place. Some of you were in my AP class last year and your positive attitudes helped get me through the year! Others of you are now, as I write this, finishing up Senior Project. I have to say that so far, I’m very impressed. You can be totally normal teenagers and then, abra cadabra! you are poised, knowledgeable young adults teaching me about everything from dog training to computer programs to model rockets to martial arts. So it seems I learned much from you. I hope you learned something from me that will stay with you as you go out into the “real” world. I’ll be right here in the “unreal” world of your time at Clark. And Dillen, if you see Vince, tell him I said Hi…and vice-versa. – Ms. Pettegrew Dear Class of 2012, Y.O.L.O. I hear this a lot from you guys and it has “trended” thanks to being included in one of your popular songs (Does anybody still call them songs?). I find it ironic that it is so terribly misused. This is partly because neither you nor Drake is old enough to understand what it means. (“No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going.”). That is not really your fault. I am a teacher, and more importantly, I am old enough to understand what it means, so let me educate you. Because Y.O.L.O. don’t be distracted from meeting your goals. You need to strive to make each day a masterpiece (thanks Coach Wooden). Even if you live to be 100 years old, you do not have enough time left to spend any appreciable amount of it on some of the trivial and pointless things this world has to offer. Because Y.O.L.O. you need to aim as high as you can. Dare to explore your capabilities instead of looking around at your peers and deciding just to fall in step with what they are doing (regardless of how thoughtless, pointless, or ridiculous it is). Finally, because Y.O.L.O. you need to measure twice… Congratulations to you all. Your best years could be ahead of you if you remember this… Y.O.L.O. – Fred Blattner Four years ago, a group of enthusiastic and anxious students gathered outside of the Auditeria for the first of many rites of passage at Clark: the pancake breakfast. As freshmen, many of you searched for and huddled amongst familiar faces from middle school. From that day, where the lunch tables were filled with small groups of students who tried to cling to their old selves, to the evening of the prom, where one group moved collectively on a crowded dance floor, your maturation and growth has been apparent. Mrs. Blattner and I have had the pleasure of witnessing your development not only as individuals, but also as a collective class—one that exemplifies the qualities that we hoped to instill as teachers: respect, perseverance and perspicacity. We hope as you leave Clark, and continue developing your individual identities, that the qualities you shared with the Class of 2012 will guide you along your path toward distinction. – Mr. Pruitt Wow! Class of 2012, I cannot believe you are already (or is it all ready? DOL humor, or is that an oxymoron?) leaving the safe haven of Clark. While it is a cliché, it does seem like yesterday that Mr. Davis and I had the pleasure of guiding you in sophomore humanities. Your oral histories, your children’s books, even your democracy projects are fresh in my mind (sort of). While I’d like to say something personal to each of you, I don’t have the time (I’m such a procrastinator, but Mr. Davis gave me a pass – tee hee!). • Sipan G. and Sipan B., I often referred to you as the two Sipans; your work and attitude with us was just stellar. I know you’ll both have successful futures. • Gayaneh D. and Lyanne N., You guys were my facebook friends as I tried to navigate facebook and see if it would be a viable option for communicating with students. It wasn’t, but I got to communicate with you two, who made me laugh so often. • Ruben A. and Jonas K, You both are such amazing, though rather serious, students. As I greeted you at the door, my goal was to try to make you smile, but I’m clearly no comedian. I hope you are smiling now. You’ve earned all your laurels. • Spencer B. and Daniel S., I have to give you both a shout-out since I’ve known you since kindergarten. You are lucky I’m not putting embarrassing birthday party pictures here! Tomás sends his congratulations. • Syuzanna H. and Mary S., Such good pals! When one was absent, the other would gather missed work (if she wasn’t absent, too.☺) • Anahit S. and Susanna S., I thought you guys were twins! Arsen G. and David G., I didn’t know (at first) that you guys were twins – and in the same class! I thought there was some scheduling law against that. • Patricia V., Perhaps I’ll see you on the runway in a Tom Ford show! Okay, now a few quick, random thoughts that come to mind. Mr. Davis is tapping his foot behind me! Hopefully, you’ll get my reference: Daniel D. – bowling! Tommy S. – so talented! John K. – guitar! Chris R. – so smart! (You can’t fool me!) Aram B. – band! Vincent V. – volleyball! Katherine C. – newspaper project! Gilbert Z. – filming my daughter! Freddy D. – Coca cola! Greg T. – always saying hello! Anoush D. – Mr. B. didn’t recommend you! Ryan M. – Lakers contest! Khachik G. – fainting! Milton M. –T.A.! Thanks! Michael M. – Facebook rant. LOL! Bryan S. – Jeff! Congratulations to you all! Come back to visit; we will miss you. Mrs. Davis I think graduation is a little like seeing your own kids grow up. I remember most of you as sophomores. That crazy, silly, portfolio mug shot, has become a beautiful/handsome senior picture in your yearbook. How special many of you have become to me. I hope you find a career that makes work a fun place to spend your time, and that you also find that special someone to travel life’s journey with so you don’t have to go it alone. Thanks for being ‘my kids’ for this short moment in time. I will not forget you, and hope you come back to share successes, setbacks, and relive our memories together. May the odds always be in your favor! – Miss Thomsen Dear Class of 2012: Thank you for giving me another memorable and rewarding year of teaching. I am proud to say that you are a wonderful group of young adults who are motivated, talented and sooooo talkative. Remember to work hard for what you want, be grateful for what you have, and be mindful of those in need. Allow yourself to be happy, and make every day count. Good luck to you all, as you venture forth and please don’t forget to keep in touch. Most Sincerely, Ms. Vardanyan