Middle School 2017-2018 Awards
GatorAward: Given to students nominated by their peers
for having exceptional spirit in all areas of school life.
for having exceptional spirit in all areas of school life.
- Grade 6: Olivia Near
- Grade 7: Jonny Lane
- Grade 8: Anna Parrott
for taking initiative to be positive, generous, and kind.
- Grade 6: Nicole Pearson
- Grade 7: Sofia Guerra
- Grade 8: Samantha Salamone
Strength to Strength Award: Given to a student in each grade
who embodies the strength of Annie Wright
and inspires others by drawing on the community of family, friends, and teachers
to achieve extraordinary success during the school year.
who embodies the strength of Annie Wright
and inspires others by drawing on the community of family, friends, and teachers
to achieve extraordinary success during the school year.
- Grade 6: Beatrice Hunt & Isabella Mulhall
- Grade 7: Charles Stringfellow
- Grade 8: Riley Comstock
Scholarship Award: Given to a student in each grade
for excellence in academic achievement and sincerity of effort.
for excellence in academic achievement and sincerity of effort.
- Grade 6: Brynn Manke
- Grade 7: Sasha Zhang
- Grade 8: Caroline Hall & Anna Parrott
Eighth Grade Awards:
Humanities: Given to the Eighth Grade student who, during his or her years in the Middle School, has demonstrated high achievement and enthusiasm for learning in the area of humanities.
- Leo Bessler & Buanand McConnell
- Mia Escobar
Math & Science: Given to the Eighth Grade student who, during his or her years in the Middle School, has demonstrated high achievement and enthusiasm for learning in the area of math and science.
- Dana Hicks
Language Acquisition: Given to the Eighth Grade student who, during his or her years in the Middle School, has demonstrated high achievement and enthusiasm for learning in the area of language acquisition.
- Maxine Pendras
Teachers' Award: Given to the Middle School student who has made very special contributions to the Middle School Community during his or her years in the Middle School.
- Saul Kontos-Cohen
Opening Remarks
Good morning and welcome to the Middle School Closing Ceremony, our formal conclusion to the 2017-2018 academic year. We gather today to close the book that is the 17-18 year, and, like any captivating novel, the year had its peaks and valleys, its drama and turbulence, its moments of beauty and moments of quiet, from sorting ourselves into Families of Cetaceans, Raptors, Felines, and Insects at Orientation to strumming ukuleles and exploring the spooky side of Seattle during Experience Days; from collecting pet food, blankets, and pantry items for the Puget Sound Pet Food Bank, Nativity House, and the Food Connection to stepping out on journeys to California, the Southwest, and Costa Rica; from dances with a great DJ in the Great Hall and the Gym to stunning performances by the cast and crew of the Middle School play (including a world premiere!) and by the Middle School Orchestra; from gathering for the formal celebrations of Holiday Tea and Lessons & Carols to the festivities of May Day; from a genuinely unsettling Advisory Pumpkin Decorating Contest to the inspired and somewhat seaworthy designs of the Milk Boat Regatta...
Each of these things happens every year, and yet we experience each of these things as if for the first time. This is the power of tradition - the structures and the purpose remain constant, but each year they are fresh and unique because of the assemblage of people who make it happen. This year, the Middle School was “busting at the seams” with 120 students, including a Sixth Grade class of 45. Our program continues to evolve with the needs and talents of our students, the gifts and passions of our faculty, and the framework and vision of the IB Middle Years Programme, and next year we will adapt to further growth. However much we as a community grow, we will always return to what ties us together: our shared love of Harry Potter.
Since I came to Annie Wright in 2015, I have been struck by the ways our school evokes the world and school that JK Rowling created. Getting lost on campus in my first few weeks, I was certain that the staircases moved, and there are certain trees and bushes that I stay away from, as they remind me just a bit too much of the whomping willow. At one point, Ms. Wagstaff and I were looking for ways to maximize our space in Middle School, and I swear that the Room of Requirement responded to our needs. Beyond these superficial similarities, though, I am mindful of the many insights and lessons that the novels and movies afford us.
At the end of “The Goblet of Fire,” Ron says to Hermione and Harry, “Think we’ll ever have a quiet year at Hogwarts?” When Hermione and Harry respond with an emphatic “No,” Ron says, “Yeah, well, what’s life without a few dragons.” Think we’ll ever have a quiet year at Annie Wright? Probably not. In a matter of hours, construction will start on the renovation of our Science room, the expansion of the Kemper Gym, and the building of the Upper School for Boys. There are things that we can predict, like our subjects and our traditions, but there will be curveballs. Hard things will happen, conflicts will occur between friends and classmates and colleagues, and challenges will be presented to each person. As Dumbledore said in the same novel, “Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” Now, I don’t mean to say we will face a dark wizard returning to wreak havoc, but Dumbledore’s insight that each of us, facing our dragons - whatever they be - must choose between what is easy and what is right. To discern what is right, we are guided by our mission to cultivate individual learners to become well-educated, creative, and responsible citizens, and with each choice, we shape the world. This is best summed up by Dumbledore again, from earlier in the series, when he tells Harry, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
For me, the Harry Potter series is great fun with all the magic and the myriad details of the fictional wizarding world, but, despite extraordinary abilities, the story boils down to a coming-of-age story, following the characters as they grow and learn, coming to see their teachers and family members with greater complexity, and laying a foundation for the people they will become. Along the way, the most important battles involved self-doubt, introspection, facing fears, and figuring out the right thing to do. Boil it down further, and the series is all about relationships - using our abilities toward establishing trust, responding to the needs of others, and reaching out beyond the boundaries that get in the way. I’m reminded of Dumbledore again, who said, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” Doesn’t this sound familiar? How we name ourselves and describe others, how we articulate our intentions and interpret consequences of our actions, how we build relationships and how we affect them - it all begins and ends with the words we use. This is the challenge for each of us to think about this summer: what is the magic we want to perform - that is, what are the words that we can and should use to build strong relationships and a stronger community?
We gather today also to finish the anthology of the Middle School experience for the Class of 2022. Yesterday, in this space, we gathered to witness members of the class honoring each other with words, words that sought to capture the spirit, contributions, and history of each of these young people, and these words highlighted myriad gifts and talents that this crew has cultivated throughout their lives. Often, we refer to the diversity of talents in a class by identifying the obvious monikers: scholars, athletes, performers, intellectuals, artists...pretty much all of the “types” that make their way into Hollywood scripts. But yesterday’s reading, drawn from the poetry of Danielle Doby, did a better job in conveying the individual and collective talents in this group and preparing us to hear them, in their own words, name the gifts and impact of each member of the class. “Be around the light bringers, the magic makers, the world shifters, the game shakers,” Doby writes. “They challenge you, break you open, uplift and expand you. They don't let you play small with your life. These heartbeats are your people. These people are your tribe.”
The Class of 2022 and I started in the Middle School together, and that first year ended with an unexpected extra day in the San Francisco International Airport. This is a group of strong individuals, and in a crisis - in this case, being stranded at SFO - I got to see them come together, enjoy each other’s company, and wait out the long, long delay. To our Eighth Graders, as you begin your high school years, know that you have a home in the Middle School, in the hearts of your classmates and teachers, and in my heart. You have a home here, as Professor Snape poignantly said, “Always.”
Our faculty is the best. Individually and as a group, they demonstrate expertise and passion in their subjects, enthusiasm for the building of community, and, most importantly, great care and concern for our students. It has been a great privilege to work with this crew over the last three years. Please join me in thanking the faculty for all they have done and will continue to do in years to come!
As we send out Eighth Grade to Upper School, we also say goodbye to colleagues who are moving on to their next chapters. Ms. Liz Gettel will be on sabbatical next year, and we say goodbye to Ms. Sedia Bayard, Dr. Victoria Lovejoy, Ms. Jessica Paco, and retiring from a lifetime of education, Mr. John Rockne. Please join me in wishing them well next year and in the years to come.
Each of these things happens every year, and yet we experience each of these things as if for the first time. This is the power of tradition - the structures and the purpose remain constant, but each year they are fresh and unique because of the assemblage of people who make it happen. This year, the Middle School was “busting at the seams” with 120 students, including a Sixth Grade class of 45. Our program continues to evolve with the needs and talents of our students, the gifts and passions of our faculty, and the framework and vision of the IB Middle Years Programme, and next year we will adapt to further growth. However much we as a community grow, we will always return to what ties us together: our shared love of Harry Potter.
Since I came to Annie Wright in 2015, I have been struck by the ways our school evokes the world and school that JK Rowling created. Getting lost on campus in my first few weeks, I was certain that the staircases moved, and there are certain trees and bushes that I stay away from, as they remind me just a bit too much of the whomping willow. At one point, Ms. Wagstaff and I were looking for ways to maximize our space in Middle School, and I swear that the Room of Requirement responded to our needs. Beyond these superficial similarities, though, I am mindful of the many insights and lessons that the novels and movies afford us.
At the end of “The Goblet of Fire,” Ron says to Hermione and Harry, “Think we’ll ever have a quiet year at Hogwarts?” When Hermione and Harry respond with an emphatic “No,” Ron says, “Yeah, well, what’s life without a few dragons.” Think we’ll ever have a quiet year at Annie Wright? Probably not. In a matter of hours, construction will start on the renovation of our Science room, the expansion of the Kemper Gym, and the building of the Upper School for Boys. There are things that we can predict, like our subjects and our traditions, but there will be curveballs. Hard things will happen, conflicts will occur between friends and classmates and colleagues, and challenges will be presented to each person. As Dumbledore said in the same novel, “Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” Now, I don’t mean to say we will face a dark wizard returning to wreak havoc, but Dumbledore’s insight that each of us, facing our dragons - whatever they be - must choose between what is easy and what is right. To discern what is right, we are guided by our mission to cultivate individual learners to become well-educated, creative, and responsible citizens, and with each choice, we shape the world. This is best summed up by Dumbledore again, from earlier in the series, when he tells Harry, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
For me, the Harry Potter series is great fun with all the magic and the myriad details of the fictional wizarding world, but, despite extraordinary abilities, the story boils down to a coming-of-age story, following the characters as they grow and learn, coming to see their teachers and family members with greater complexity, and laying a foundation for the people they will become. Along the way, the most important battles involved self-doubt, introspection, facing fears, and figuring out the right thing to do. Boil it down further, and the series is all about relationships - using our abilities toward establishing trust, responding to the needs of others, and reaching out beyond the boundaries that get in the way. I’m reminded of Dumbledore again, who said, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” Doesn’t this sound familiar? How we name ourselves and describe others, how we articulate our intentions and interpret consequences of our actions, how we build relationships and how we affect them - it all begins and ends with the words we use. This is the challenge for each of us to think about this summer: what is the magic we want to perform - that is, what are the words that we can and should use to build strong relationships and a stronger community?
We gather today also to finish the anthology of the Middle School experience for the Class of 2022. Yesterday, in this space, we gathered to witness members of the class honoring each other with words, words that sought to capture the spirit, contributions, and history of each of these young people, and these words highlighted myriad gifts and talents that this crew has cultivated throughout their lives. Often, we refer to the diversity of talents in a class by identifying the obvious monikers: scholars, athletes, performers, intellectuals, artists...pretty much all of the “types” that make their way into Hollywood scripts. But yesterday’s reading, drawn from the poetry of Danielle Doby, did a better job in conveying the individual and collective talents in this group and preparing us to hear them, in their own words, name the gifts and impact of each member of the class. “Be around the light bringers, the magic makers, the world shifters, the game shakers,” Doby writes. “They challenge you, break you open, uplift and expand you. They don't let you play small with your life. These heartbeats are your people. These people are your tribe.”
The Class of 2022 and I started in the Middle School together, and that first year ended with an unexpected extra day in the San Francisco International Airport. This is a group of strong individuals, and in a crisis - in this case, being stranded at SFO - I got to see them come together, enjoy each other’s company, and wait out the long, long delay. To our Eighth Graders, as you begin your high school years, know that you have a home in the Middle School, in the hearts of your classmates and teachers, and in my heart. You have a home here, as Professor Snape poignantly said, “Always.”
Our faculty is the best. Individually and as a group, they demonstrate expertise and passion in their subjects, enthusiasm for the building of community, and, most importantly, great care and concern for our students. It has been a great privilege to work with this crew over the last three years. Please join me in thanking the faculty for all they have done and will continue to do in years to come!
As we send out Eighth Grade to Upper School, we also say goodbye to colleagues who are moving on to their next chapters. Ms. Liz Gettel will be on sabbatical next year, and we say goodbye to Ms. Sedia Bayard, Dr. Victoria Lovejoy, Ms. Jessica Paco, and retiring from a lifetime of education, Mr. John Rockne. Please join me in wishing them well next year and in the years to come.
