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Celebrating the Class of 2018
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Last Wednesday, June 6, Wilmington Montessori School proudly celebrated the Class of 2018 - the last class of graduating sixth-graders before graduation shifts to eighth grade in 2019:
- Jack Allen
- Cate Conaty
- Brandon Jones
- Angelica Martin
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- Logan Ranji
- Samantha Russell
- William Snyder
- Ella Walsh
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As is tradition at WMS, the morning began with a breakfast for the graduates, hosted by their fifth-grade classmates and their families. Graduates and their guests enjoyed an assortment of baked goods and fruit in the Great Room as Head of School Lisa Lalama shared opening remarks. She offered inspiring words for the sixth-graders as they reflect on their time at WMS to date and prepare for middle school:
"As you have learned more about our world and your place in it, you are working hard to understand others and through them to learn even more about yourself. You have had these friends, classmates, teachers and this school to provide the context for your life so far. You are now going to move a bit further into the world; your world is getting bigger. You've begun to experience this through your activities as sixth-graders, your trips, your interests and your questions and leadership.
As you move on to middle school, you will meet people, lots of new people and will have new experiences. You will visit places you have not yet seen and explore ideas that you haven't yet entertained. You have so much to look forward to. As you greet all of this newness you will put it into the context of your life as you know it. You will take the experiences you've had and build on them. WMS will go with you wherever you go."
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| Will Snyder receives a certificate from Laurie Orsic. |
Assistant Head of School Laurie Orsic then presented each graduate with an award recognizing their individual talents and interests. Specials teachers also commended each graduate with a list of adjectives and gave them their personalized graduation posters.
After breakfast, 9-12 students signed each other's memory books before heading to the gym for the graduation ceremony. After a few more opening remarks, Lisa introduced this year's graduation speaker, Laurel Brown (WMS '06). Laurel, who graduated from University of Rochester in 2016 with degrees in math and psychology, is a property and casualty actuarial associate for PwC in Philadelphia. She has stayed connected with WMS through relationships with teachers (she even met up with Lisa Lalama for tea when she was studying abroad in London!), working at Camp Montessori and through her mother, Calissa Brown, who is a member of the WMS Board of Directors.
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| WMS graduation speaker Laurel Brown (class of 2006) addresses the class of 2018. |
Read the full text of Laurel's speech here and look for a full article about Laurel in our alumni newsletter later this summer.
Following a slide show of memories of each graduate, the members of the Class of 2018 took the stage to share their "
Where I'm From
" poems, describing the things that make them who they are and paying gratitude to their families and the school. Their poems will be compiled into a book and placed in the admissions waiting room. Here are a few excerpts from the Class of 2018's poems:
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Angelica Martin reads her "Where I'm From" poem. |
"I'm from WMS,
where I've sprouted my wings,
into an endless flight.
Where I've charged my cannon,
that will never be powered down."
- Jack Allen
"I am from WMS
From swinging on the swings to play
Getting pushed off the swings by my friends
To writing poems and stories in the 9-12
I will miss WMS when I leave for high school
I know they will always have my back"
- Angelica Martin
"Last but not least I'm from WMS
The everlasting kindness I've been shown and taught
The friends that are now like family
the strength and inner beauty that will stay with me for a lifetime
And the path I'm paving to my own life
that path is leading away from my WMS career
But I know it will lead on to many new adventures
I will always remember The footprints left by the WMS community"
- Ella Walsh
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| Sister Kenzie Fletcher and Everett Giles present Brandon Jones with his graduation bag. |
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Jack Allen and Ella Walsh spoke about the sixth-grade trip to New York, where they visited the United Nations and attended the
Global Citizenship Action Project
(GCAP) conference with Montessori middle-schoolers from around the world. They spoke about their efforts to raise funds and awareness for
Gotta Have Sole, which provides homeless youth with new shoes. Through Spirit Week and other donations, they raised $310 for Gotta Have Sole.
The members of the Class of 2018 then received their diplomas, and
friends and family members selected by each graduate came to the stage with graduation bags filled with commemorative gifts.
Thank you to everyone who helped make last week's graduation such a special celebration. We look forward to welcoming many of our graduates back to WMS in the fall, and hearing what great things the future has in store for the Class of 2018.
View more images from the 2018 graduation via
Facebook
.
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The WMS Class of 2012 is college-bound!
Members of the WMS class of 2012 graduated from high school this year. The colleges they will attend include:
- Brown University
- Elon University
- Goucher College
- Haverford College
- Ithaca College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Penn State - Berks
- University of Maryland
- Yale University
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PRIED Middle School Marks Final Graduation Before Joining WMS
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Last Wednesday, as WMS celebrated its final sixth-grade graduating class, PRIED Middle School was also wishing its last class of graduates well. For both schools, the 2018 graduation ceremonies marked important milestones. At PRIED, graduating one last class of eighth-graders also meant closing PRIED's doors. At WMS, graduating a final class of sixth-graders marked one step closer to the reality of PRIED joining WMS this fall to form WMS's new middle school program.
While many of PRIED's students will be at WMS in the fall (for most, returning to the school where they spent their early childhood), its four graduates (all of whom are members of the WMS Class of 2016) - Marissa Lane, Analisa Nichols,
Adin Shweiki and Ava Walsh - will move on to high school.
Last year, PRIED graduated five students. Lead teacher Mandy Reis said while some people might consider it a small feat to graduate nine students in two years, "they'd change their minds if they saw how wonderful these nine students are. They will change the world - I have no doubt."
In her address to the graduates, Mandy said each student has grown academically while developing self-confidence and a work ethic that will serve them well in high school.
"You all learned more about yourselves and what you need to be successful academically," she said. "When I look at the four of you, I know we have done our job well."
During the ceremony, the students also shared some of their memories about PRIED.
Adin:
All PRIED teachers prepared me for high school, and I could not ask for a better middle school. Overall, PRIED was a great school for me, and I wish I could stay for another year.
Analisa:
My favorite thing about PRIED is the expeditionary learning trips we have. Instead of just learning about the Civil War, we went to Gettysburg and did a bike tour of the battlefield. These trips really helped me to make connections and internalize information.
Ava:
PRIED is a love of learning so strong that everyone participates and adds their own ideas to the task at hand. PRIED is questioning and thinking deeply about the world around you and making it a better kinder place. PRIED is a place to grow and learn about yourself.
Marissa:
One thing I will always love about PRIED is how everyone can freely share their own opinion and debate about topics important to them. I will be moving on to Brandywine High School, but PRIED will forever be in my heart.
Analisa and Adin will attend Wilmington Friends School this fall, while Ava will attend Gloucester County Institute of Technology and Marissa will attend Brandywine High School.
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At WMS, alumni and their families are an important part of our community! Please stay in touch by emailing your news to alumni@wmsde.org, and watch your mail this summer for WMS's new alumni newsletter! You can also connect with us through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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Give back to WMS... Your support makes a difference!
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Gifts to WMS's Annual Fund help create the special WMS experiences our graduates remember. Donations support our classrooms filled with Montessori materials and state-of-the-art technology, help maintain our beautiful campus with its creek and trails, support our Montessori-trained teachers and arts programs, and allow us to offer financial aid so more children can benefit from a WMS education. Help us keep those traditions alive while we continue to create new learning opportunities for children.
Every gift helps us keep WMS thriving for future generations! Visit www.wmsde.org/annualfund to make your tax-deductible gift to keep WMS strong!
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