Sixth and Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremonies recognize the achievements of students as they move up to Middle and Upper School. The Class of 2031 recited their "Where I'm From" poems, inspired by a poem of the same name by George Ella Lyon, and heard from Class President Ava W. ’31. The Class of 2029 shared Middle School Reflections paired with a slideshow of memories, along with a speech from Class President Sophie G. ’29.

8th Grade Recognition Remarks by Director of Lower and Middle School Dr. Zanita Kelly (June 4, 2025)

Good evening, families, teachers, and most importantly, the eighth grade class. Before I get too far into remarks, I want to acknowledge that this year’s middle schoolers were four-time Middle School Independent League Champions in swimming, flag football, tennis, and golf.

Eighth graders, today is for you and about you. This moment is about pausing to recognize all the growing, learning, stretching, stumbling, trying, failing, and rising you’ve done; not just this year, but every year that brought you to this point.

When I think about growth—real, meaningful growth—I always return to this image: an egg.

If pressure comes from the outside, the egg breaks and life ends. But if pressure comes from the inside, the shell cracks open and life begins.

It’s a simple but powerful reminder that true transformation starts from within. No one can force you to grow; not a teacher, not your parents, not even your besties. Growth comes as you learn the lessons that life presents and are ready to push from the inside out.

As your teachers, parents, and caring adults, our job is to ensure you are fully competent and completely equipped with the appropriate lessons and to help create the space for that inner pressure to build through challenge, trust, and opportunities to apply new learning.

You have grown tremendously over the years and learned many academic and social-emotional lessons. And as you leave the comfort of the Mudd Pit, I want to offer four final life lessons that we can take from the eagle family we've been watching this year: Jackie, Shadow, and their eaglets, Gizmo and Sunny. We watched those tiny chicks go from wobbly and helpless to alert and strong. But that growth didn’t happen in a straight line. It was messy, took time, and came with heartbreak. We mourned Misty, one of the chicks who didn’t survive. That loss hurt, but it reminded us that life isn’t without difficulty.

It’s okay to struggle. Struggle is essential to growth. Every challenge you’ve faced, whether academic, social, or personal, has made you stronger and wiser. Don’t run from the hard stuff. Like MJ said, “I never lose, I either win or I learn."

Lesson 1: Grow through what you go through.

As the eaglets grew, their world expanded, and so did the challenges: predators, harsh winds, snow, and sudden environmental changes. When one of the eaglets, Misty, died. I'm not gonna lie, I was shook. I remember telling the story during a faculty meeting. I admit it was giving drama as I talked about how the parent eagles placed the baby eagle’s limp body in their beaks and flew off into the horizon, when Mrs. Hansen leaned in to say (You know they ate that baby).

Lesson 2: There’s always someone lurking in the shadows, ready to burst your bubble.

But that doesn’t mean you let them win. You will face criticism, disappointment, and people who don’t see your magic. That’s okay. It's just feedback. Accept what’s real, shake off the rest, and keep it moving. Eventually, Jackie and Shadow stopped feeding Gizmo and Sunny, not because they had stopped loving them, but because they knew what was coming next: flight.

And when those young eagles finally jump, they’ll fall, sometimes up to 90 feet. But just before they hit the ground, their parents will swoop in to catch them.

That’s how they learn to fly: by falling, and being caught just enough to try again.

Lesson 3 is for the parents: Don’t prepare the road for your chick. Prepare your chick for the road.

You won’t always have a smooth path ahead. But that’s not the goal. The goal is to know how to navigate life's twists, turns, and free falls and to believe that there’s support around you when you need it.

Let’s be the community that doesn’t panic at every misstep. That believes deeply in the power of the journey to build resilience, fortitude, and grit. My final lesson,

Lesson 4: Trust the process. The goal isn’t to stay in the nest—it’s to fly!

Your teachers trust you. Your parents trust you. And now, we hope you trust yourselves.

You are ready. Not just to fly—but to soar. Congratulations, Class of 2029. Go make the sky your own.
 

6th Grade Recognition Remarks by Director of Lower and Middle School Dr. Zanita Kelly (June 3, 2025)

Class of 2031, today is your day. It’s a day to celebrate your hard work, perseverance, and the ways you’ve grown—not just in academics but also in your personal growth and development during the lower school years.

And now is the time to level up. Imagine your favorite video game, if you will. For me, it was Pac-Man (because I am old). You had to master the first level before moving to the next, bringing new challenges and skills. I failed for months to clear the screen, eat the pellets, swallow the fruit for extra points, and outmaneuver the ghosts to see the new opportunities beyond the first level. And when I finally leveled up, I would not trade any of my prior failures for that feeling of accomplishment and competence in the game for anything in the world.

I have found that, like in the video games we play, you must master the challenge of your age and stage before you can level up.

In real life, like IRL, you will continue to grow older by default, even if you don’t hit your developmental milestones, but gaining wisdom and skill is an active choice. I implore you to choose wisdom. How? I am glad you asked. Your wisdom comes from within. Knowing who you are and being grounded in your core values. The future is changing faster than we can come up with solutions. The truth is, we don’t know what the future holds for you. But what I know for sure is that the only thing you can know is yourself – you are the constant in your life.

My BFF Michelle Obama told me through her words in her book called Becoming: “Now, I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child— ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.”

That quote speaks right to the heart of our conversation. Because becoming isn’t a finish line. You didn’t become who you are today all at once.

It happened in pieces—through overcoming friendship issues, group project struggles, failing a hard test, and then acing it the next time because you studied and didn’t procrastinate, laughing with friends, and little acts of courage and kindness every day.

And now, you are not just leaving Lower School. You are becoming Middle Schoolers. And there is power in becoming.

Sometimes becoming happens in quiet moments—when you raise your hand even though you're unsure of the answer, when you apologize first, when you choose to try again and again – I will take failure over regret every day! You’ve been learning to lead, listen, reflect, and ask better questions. And more importantly, you’re learning how to become yourselves. You’ve already accomplished so much, and I’m most proud of how you’ve shown up for each other, and how you are growing into thoughtful, resilient, funny, generous, gracious, intelligent young people.

As you level up into the Middle School, remember: the road ahead doesn’t require perfection—it requires your presence. It requires a commitment to curiosity. It requires kindness. And just enough courage to take the next step, even when you're unsure exactly where it will lead.

You are still becoming. And that’s the most exciting part—because every choice, every risk, every friendship, every moment of growth is shaping the story of who you are.

Michelle says that “Becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. Instead, it is forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”

With that understanding, be kind to yourself. You won’t have everything figured out tomorrow, and that’s okay – no one does, and you’re not supposed to. Lean in and do the hard things—run toward the challenges. They often help you grow the most. Listen more than you speak and be more curious than certain. And when you do use your voice, do so thoughtfully, with honesty and heart. When you see someone being left out, be the one who notices. Be the one who includes.

The world is full of people who are boastful, selfish, dishonest, and unkind; don’t let that discourage you. Let it motivate you. Optimism is not passive, it is a discipline and it is resistance in the face of apathy. At this time in our history, love is an act of resistance!

“Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?” You don’t need to be the loudest, the boldest, or the best to make a difference. You just need to be you—fully, bravely, and unapologetically. Go outside and play. Find your passion through experiencing the world, doing what you enjoy, fostering your curiosity, and feeding your imagination. Put the screens down for the summer and lay off the group chats. You have work to do.

Keep resisting. Keep persisting. Keep becoming.

The world is better because you’re in it. And we can’t wait to see what you do next. Congratulations. We love you.