Celebrating Our Eighth raders

At New Canaan Country School’s Celebration of Eighth Graders on June 13, Head of Upper School Karl Palmgren recognized the 61 members of the Class of 2023 as kind, genuine and talented. In his remarks, he told the students that he is confident they will do great things with their lives. He also reminded them that academic preparation isn’t all they learned or all that they will need moving forward. “Skill and knowledge without courage is like a car without gas — it won’t go anywhere. You can come to a conclusion as to the next best step about a very difficult decision, but without courage, without that gas, you will be stuck.” He encouraged them to remember that they also learned how to be bold and resilient.

1. Eighth Grader Sasha Valdes delivered the Class Reflection. She urged her classmates to remember their shared experiences and how brave they had grown: “We have been trying new things in spite of our fears since before we could walk, so why should we stop now? It may be hard, but we have done it before, and we must continue. If we do not try, we will never know how much we could have achieved.”