OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Pictured are four of the seven students in Silver Creek’s Seal of Biliteracy course. All four students are in the top 10 of the senior class at Silver Creek. Pictured from left to right: Nathan Cross, Kimberly Bauer, Haleigh Salisbury, and Samuel Bowers.

SILVER CREEK — The final Board of Education meeting in Silver Creek was a celebration of some of the district’s most impressive students. The district celebrated its valedictorian, Nathan Cross, and its salutatorian, Samuel Bowers. Both students were singled out and congratulated by the Board of Education.

Fittingly, Cross and Bowers were also recognized later in the meeting, as the district highlighted two of its most unique courses, the Seal of Biliteracy and the Seal of Civic Readiness programs.

Albert VanDette, Spanish Teacher, spoke about the Seal of Biliteracy program, now in its third year at Silver Creek. This year, seven students participated in the program.

Students were tasked with learning about another culture by researching a school in a country that did not speak English. From the school calendar to extracurricular activities, students studied the differences between Silver Creek High School and the school they chose for their research project. Students were then tasked with presenting the information and asked questions in Spanish.

“A lot of the information that they came up with was very unique. Everybody came up with a very different school. It was very exciting to listen to their presentations,” VanDette said. “… They knocked it right out of the park.”

Bowers studied a school in Chile. He prepared a presentation in Spanish highlighting the similarities and differences in comparison to schools in the United States, then studied a social issue in our nation and presented that, in English, to demonstrate biliteracy.

“I’m very proud of what you’ve accomplished and to be a part of this project for the last three years,” VanDette said to the students involved in the program.

Kyle Zak, a Social Studies Teacher hired this past fall, helped guide students through the Seal of Civic Readiness program as the head of the committee. The program stresses civic engagement and knowledge in its students as they prepare for graduation. Focus areas include leadership, communication, and community service. The program began in 2021, and formal recognition upon graduation is given to students who complete the course.

“Getting to know the students, right away, I was really excited about all of their ideas when they came to me. I knew that by the end of the year, they were going to come to fruition,” Zak said. “I’m really proud of them and all the hard work that they have accomplished.”

Students were tasked with completing projects that impact their community through the school. Among the projects were a badminton tournament to raise money for the Silver Creek Food Pantry; a basketball clinic and raffle to benefit the Michael Boedo Community Foundation; and a wrestling clinic held by Section VI girls wrestling champion Kimberly Bauer to mentor young athletes in the area.

Three recent Indigenous Honor Society graduates — Skyla Gates, Hailie Rybij, and Amirya Warrior — honored their heritage with their Seal of Civic Readiness project in two parts. First, they held a Remembrance Walk on Every Child Matters Day to teach students of all ages about indigenous boarding schools and the impact they had on their communities.

With the support of the Seneca Nation of Indians and guidance from Silver Creek’s Seneca Language and Culture Teacher, Anne Tahamont, the students educated their fellow students about what boarding schools were, the forced assimilation that occurred, and how their lasting effects have impacted multiple generations of indigenous people.

For the second part of the project, Gates, Rybij, and Warrior raised the Seneca Nation flag, the Haudenosaunee flag, and the Every Child Matters flag in the school gym. They discussed the significance of each flag at a ceremony between basketball games held in the gym.

“They are doing amazing things, and I know this is the first step in doing amazing things after high school and beyond Silver Creek,” Zak said of all the students participating in the program. “Leading a civic life is one of the most important things, not only for Silver Creek, but it’s great skills to have as a young individual. It’s something that you’re going to take with you for the rest of your life, and hopefully make an impact wherever you go. … I’m glad to be a part of it.”