Celebrations of Learning

One of the great benefits of living on a school calendar is that we have definite beginnings and endings. The tangible energy on the last day of school and the summer freedom that awaits is actually somewhat similar to the excitement of the first day of school when friends re-gather after those summer adventures to share tales and reconnect. Both are causes for celebration as we reflect on past growth and look to future opportunities. And in today’s world, I am very grateful for each opportunity to celebrate, whether large or small.

On May 1, our Seven Hills community shared in the first of many celebrations honoring our soon-to-be graduates. Each year, all divisions of the school gather in what’s called the “Senior Circle” — an opportunity for our 12th grade students to take some celebratory laps on the upper field to the applause of other students, parents, faculty, and staff. To our youngest students, these seniors are stars (as evidenced by the rather raucous applause our seniors received).

Our oldest students are the leaders, examples, and the hope for the future. We look forward to many additional opportunities to both honor and thank them for the contributions they have made to our community as we lead up to graduation. Each student makes the school better by the contributions they leave throughout their journey.

But celebrations don’t have to be limited to just the end of the journey. They are occurring all around us. In April, our computer science students presented their first projects fair. The gym was packed as students and faculty alike were amazed by over 40 presentations of robots, original games and apps, original data analysis, sign-language interpreting, and so much more. A true celebration of learning.

In just the last month, our students have excelled at competitions, including HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), Robotics, Thespians, Mock Trial, Science Olympiad, a wide variety of athletic events, and stellar performances, including theater and instrumental and vocal music. What I love about attending each of these is seeing the joy in the observers and participants. As humans, we thrive on seeing ourselves and other humans excel, and we’ve had so many opportunities to experience this in recent months. Each competition, show, game, and event gives us a chance as a community to see our peers at their finest. While the audience may look different for AP and course exams and the completion of academic work, these also give us cause to recognize hard work and celebrate.

Sometimes the news tends to drive us to worry about the future, often with good cause. But as we wrap up a fantastic school year, I invite everyone to join in celebrating so much good, both in and out of school. From the perspective of watching these prepared young people get ready to take their next step in life, there is certainly a lot of good to come. Let’s celebrate!