Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony

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Eighth Grade Recognition Day

The Class of 2025 selected Middle School teacher Damon Hall as the faculty speaker for the Recognition Ceremony held on June 7, 2021.

Good morning parents, faculty, administrators, and most importantly, students . It is an honor to have the privilege to address the Class of 2025 at this special ceremony today . I don’t believe it is any secret how fond I am and have been of this group . 8th graders know how I love to show appreciation for my advisees and former advisees . I’ve often referred to my 8th grade history class as a group of all-stars . And to the dismay of some 7th graders, they’ve heard me sing the praises of the 8th graders far more than they ever desired to . Suffice to say, being your faculty speaker today is a great honor to me .

One thing that I really admire about this group is your perseverance and optimism in the face of adversity.

Sure, you conquered the comps and papers, tests and quizzes, projects and presentations that we’ve thrown at you. But you also survived the Fall Poko trip of 2019. Remember that? The nature gods imposed their will on you in the form of winds and heavy rains, but you still managed to make it an unforgettable trip. You’ve also made it through a year and a half of school in a worldwide pandemic. Throughout the quarantine, zoom classes, social distancing, and cancelled sports contests you’ve remained steady and strong, finding joy through one another. At this point, 80 million asteroids could crash down to earth, and I’m not sure it would stop you, but who could say for sure?

As a group, I’ve found you to be very welcoming and accepting of one another and others. Many of you were new to Hackley in 6th grade but now serve as ambassadors for the school, speaking to prospective students and families at open houses or meeting with faculty and administrative candidates to see how well they’d fit into this community that you now know so well. You’ve welcomed two new students to the grade the past two years and chose one to be a student speaker today, further illustrating this point. I know how hospitable this group can be from firsthand experience. I was new to the Hackley community last year and have been welcomed with open arms. I’ve been trolled, badgered, and asked about my rising moon sign...I know that these are all ways in which the Class of 2025 shows their love, so thank you.

I also have a lot of respect and appreciation for the joy and talent that I’ve seen from the Class of 2025. I’ve been wowed by your musical talent, your athletic

Damon Hall addresses the Class of 2025 at their moving up ceremony on June 7 . During his speech, he shared nuggets of wisdom with the rising ninth graders and reminded them to enjoy the journey .

8 HACKLEY REVIEW COMMENCEMENT SUPPLEMENT 2021

ability, and even your culinary talent (that’s cooking skills). I went into our 7th grade “Chopped” activity night with a little trepidation about how my stomach would handle things, but I must say I was very pleasantly surprised.

I could go on and on singing the praises of these rising 9th graders, but it is customary at events like this for the speaker to try to impart some nuggets of wisdom, guidance, or advice to those being honored, so I’ll give it my best shot for you all. The first piece of advice is practical and I’m sure that I’m not the first person to give it to you. Please, put

down the electronics for a second and take time to

smell the roses. There is a whole big world out here if you take some time away from the screens in your life. I know that learning Tik Tok dances are fun. I know that you’ve got to build up your hogs to beat your friends in Clash Royale (or something like that). I also know that connecting with friends through games, text, and social media probably provided a lot of you with a sense of connection and friendship during the lows of the pandemic which has been a lonely, scary, and likely boring time for a lot of you. But there is a lot of joy to be had out here in the physical world too. Technology is great but is no replacement for face to face contact...even masked and six feet apart.

Wisdom Nugget #2. Remember that you’re growing

and changing and will be for a long time. Who you

are is very far from set in stone. Your interests, talents, and goals will change, and change again, and change again. Even all the boomers here today, (which parents should know is essentially anyone over 18 to this grade) are still discovering new things about themselves and developing new hobbies. It isn’t uncommon for me to be in the halls and hear someone say “I’m not good at math” or “I don’t like competitive sports.” or “I wouldn’t be good at that.” Let high school be a time of trying new things and

EIGHTH GRADE RECOGNITION DAY

The Class of 2025

cultivating the interests and talents that you already do have. I don’t think any of you would say that you have the same limits and capabilities that you had as 4th graders. As you sit at your graduation 4 years from now, you’ll be impressed with how far you’ve come and the skills you’ve picked up along the way.

Lastly, care for one another and treat each other well. Think of people beyond yourself. Expand your circle of concern. We often prioritize achievement inside and outside of school. We prioritize personal happiness as well. It is important that you are healthy and happy. It is great that you and your parents and the faculty want you to achieve and be successful in whatever way that you define success. However, it is also important that you become a considerate and compassionate person. It is a social and interconnected world. Schools, teams, governments, neighborhoods and communities depend on our ability to cooperate and support one another. How we treat one another matters on a small scale and large. This grade is very comfortable with one another and that’s a great thing to see. However, in between bouts of playful teasing and games, remember that words and acts of kindness can truly go a long way.

To wrap up, let me remind you that this isn’t the end. Some of you will be moving on and we wish you the very best, but most of you will be moving up. The next four years will hold plenty of adventures, challenges, and curveballs for you to live through. Continue to grow, learn and enjoy the company of one another and others. Know that all of the other people in this tent and beyond are here to support you and to push you to be your best. You’ll make some mistakes and you’ll also do great things.

Enjoy the journey and make it your own. Thanks.

10 HACKLEY REVIEW COMMENCEMENT SUPPLEMENT 2021 click here for photo gallery  click here for video 

Eighth Grade Recognition Day

The Class of 2025 selected Rafael C. ’25 as the student speaker for the Recognition Ceremony held on June 7, 2021.

Good afternoon to the class of 2025, and before I begin, I’d like to thank the student body for this opportunity to go up here and speak . To start this off, I’d like to tell all of you a story about when I first came to Hackley, in 2013 .

I was going into my first day of kindergarten, and I was excited to be a part of a new community of teachers and peers, but I was also shy and anxious. I was escorted by a teacher to my classroom, and I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot that day. I made friends, and I became part of the Hackley community. So, the next day, I was more confident, and didn’t even need a teacher to escort me anywhere! So, five-year-old me walked in there, got lost, and was ten minutes late to my second day of kindergarten. While this story might just seem like something to laugh about, this also has a hidden meaning behind it. Five-year-old me was more confident than most people are now, which was good in the short term, but disastrous in the long run. I overshot my goal, and ended up in a place I wasn’t ready for, the first grade hallway. This is part of the message I want to communicate to the class of 2025; to not overshoot your goals, and to know your limits. I personally know so many of you, and I know there are so many big dreamers in this class, something that will get you farther in life than you expect.

However, overshooting your goals doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. When I went into that firstgrade hallway, I met my future teacher, and had a quick, but teary, conversation with her, and got to know her. Knowing I had one extra teacher friend at Hackley helped me stay positive throughout the year, and didn’t make my excitement go unrewarded. This is another point about dreaming big; that if you shoot for the moon, you’ll land among the stars. I shot for the moon, passed by it, hit my head on it a couple of times, but I did find a nice star to land on. This example has been illustrated throughout history countless times, such as when Dr. Alexander Fleming made penicillin. He just left some bacteria in his lab,

Rafael C . '25 addresses the Class of 2025, brightening an already beautiful day with humor and laughter .

EIGHTH GRADE RECOGNITION DAY 11

and left for two weeks. Eventually, he came back, and the bacteria had this new mold on it, which became penicillin. Dr. Fleming, in this case, shot for the stars, but landed on the moon, which illustrates another point in this speech, which is to stay positive, and to keep working hard no matter what.

Speaking of medicine, this year was especially tough for the eighth grade, seeing as how we had to attend school in a pandemic. This experience was new to students and teachers alike, and coming out of quarantine and going into school headfirst was also difficult, socially and academically. Even humour was tough — since I’d been in quarantine for so long, all I knew were inside jokes! I’m sorry about that — all these virus jokes are really catchy. On a more serious note, making it through online school was a difficulty that we not only overcame as a student body, but as a community of peers. Over the course of this year, I’ve seen new friendships being made, and people connecting in various ways that they wouldn’t have otherwise, if it wasn’t for the quarantine. In other words, we took what could have very easily been taken as a negative, and shaped it into a positive! Over quarantine, we practiced pre-existing skills and learned new skills, made new friends even when we were physically farther than we’d ever been, and by the time we got back to in-person school, we were ready to go, and filled with the same enthusiasm I had running down the kindergarten hallway. In conclusion, school throughout the course of the year has been vastly different from any of our expectations of it. This was a new experience for all of us, but even when we had to go on Zoom, and there seemed to be obstacles in the way of our education, we overcame them and came out stronger than ever, as one Hackley community, united. We overcame these challenges for one main reason — not because it was fun, or easy, but because of all the big dreamers in this class, who want to do so much more in their lives, young people filled with the same excitement for high school I felt entering Hackley School on my second day ever of school. Keep dreaming big, and don’t let anything get in the way of your aspirations, unless it’s a government-mandated six feet.

Middle Schoolers perform during the Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony .