I really didn't think I would cry. Fifth grade graduation doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal, and even though graduating means that Owen is no longer in elementary school, he wasn't at this elementary school very long -- Owen only joined SWS in third grade. So while I thought I would be proud and excited and maybe even a little verklempt, I didn't think I would cry.
I was wrong.
See, this was the first fifth grade class to ever graduate from SWS -- the school used to just be for Pre-K and kindergarten, but began adding grades when Owen started first grade. So for SWS and particularly those that fought to expand the school, this moving up ceremony was a very big deal. And while roughly half of the class of 24 been at SWS for four years or less, a bunch of the kids had been there since they were four.
The ceremony started with a processional followed by a slide-show of the kids over the year. After that the orchestra played the first of two songs. And then personal statements (and waterworks) started.
Each of the 24 kids was given one minute on the stage, to fill however they wanted. Some of them talked about how scared they were when their parents dropped them off when they were four and how now they never want to leave. Others performed songs or an interpretive dance. A few acted out scenes from their days at SWS, including one memorable one involving the tragedy of french fry falling on the ground.
Owen gave a speech, listing the people that made his time at SWS so happy and memorable. And how glad he was that he'd still get to stop by since Nora would still be there.
There was a presentation by the administration, and then the kids gave flowers to all their former teachers, received their certificates, got hugged by Ms. Wertheimer and their other teachers (Owen opted for a handshake), the orchestra performed one last time, and then they danced off the stage.
It was a really beautiful ceremony and this has been a really special class. Because it's a city-wide school and the school that it feeds into for middle-school is still evolving, the kids are all going to different places next year -- some are moving, some are switching to privates or charters, once is even being home-schooled. And when it dawned on me, that this group of kids would probably never be assembled together again, well that made me totally lose it.
Owen's going to do great in middle school. He's off to Stuart-Hobson with a bunch of other SWS students and will be rejoining a lot of his old Watkins friends and is really excited for all that entails. But SWS has been an amazing place for him -- he's learned so much and has really blossomed in its walls, and for that I'll be forever grateful... and a little verklempt.
Congratulations SWS class of 2017. And as you make your in the world remember what you learned there: Nothing Without Joy.
(To see all the moving up and last day pictures, please click here.)
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Moving on Up
Posted by Elaine M. Zimmerman on Wednesday, June 14, 2017
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