2023 Graduation Reflections

by Cassidy Eldredge, 2023 6th Grade Graduate, Bridgeview Montessori, Sagamore, MA

Bridgeview Montessori has been a big part of my life for more than eight years now, and it’s gone by so fast. One of my favorite things about Bridgeview is how this whole school is a community. It’s never awkward on the first day of school with new people. I've observed that, in the first week of school, we’re all comfortable with each other and already friends. And, unlike other schools, there’s rarely a day where I dread coming here; in fact, on many occasions, I’m excited for the day.

All these amazing people standing with me today have become great friends. We’ve all known each other since kindergarten, and each year, we become closer and closer. I don’t remember my first day at Bridgeview, but I do remember being so excited for Fridays. Every Friday, all the kindergarteners would come together, and Lucy, my teacher in the Red Room, often taught us a lesson. One lesson I remember in particular was learning how to read a clock. We all had these little pretend clocks, and Lucy walked us through how to tell the time. I didn't really understand the concept, but little me was able to know exactly what time it was, if it was a quarter past one o'clock. My favorite part of Friday was how the kindergarteners got extra recess with Tiffany, our art teacher. We all would play together, and we played everything from tag to mermaids. We were such great friends then, and our friendship has grown stronger.

My third year was my most memorable year in Elementary I (Lower Elementary). I was finally a “big kid.” The year started out great. With so much responsibility, we were finally role models! We even had a great new teacher, Oona. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long... COVID… March 2020. Do I need to say more? And while I thought it was the end of the world, it wasn’t. I learned how to be patient while on Zoom and how to follow a schedule. Our teacher, Rebecca, even taught me how to play Scrabble™ on Zoom. And I often had math lessons with Oona. It was a hard end of the year, not being able to see my friends in person, but we still found ways to communicate. That was a hard trial, but in the Fourth Year, we reconnected as if Covid-19 had never happened. I’m not going to talk more about Fourth Year. It was a great year, minus all that mask and Covid stuff.

In science, I’ve learned so much about different kinds of ecosystems and all the food chains that occur in the Australian Outback. I also learned a lot about biomimicry for our last science fair project at Bridgeview. I never thought I could learn as much about polar bear paws as I did in these past few months. Just in this seemingly short year, I've also progressed a lot in math.

Thankfully this isn’t the end, it’s just a new chapter in my life, and my time at Bridgeview Montessori has prepared me for it.

I never thought I would be able to understand algebra, but my teacher proved me wrong. She helped me understand all the different parts of a problem, and while it may have taken a while, even negative numbers. One of my favorite activities this year was the Sixth-Year Sleepover. I would tell you more about it, but we promised our teachers, Sandy and Suzanne, that what happens at the Sixth YearSleepover stays at the Sixth-Year-Sleepover. We’ve also had many other field trips this year, including the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Thornton Burgess Jam Kitchen, and many more fun activities.

Elementary II (Upper Elementary) has been one of my favorite years at Bridgeview. While a big part of it was the school and environment up here, an even bigger part of why I loved it so much was my teachers and classmates. To my teachers — thank you so much for helping me with any hard work, whether it be really explaining it to me to help me understand it or just telling me to read the instructions out loud. And, yes, that’s happened multiple times. Finally, thank you so much to our Head of School, who was also an amazing art teacher. You’ve helped me progress in art, which is important to me. And thank you for making my two last art classes ones I will never forget. I genuinely appreciate you letting us sketch and make potato art. I thank you all for being such patient, caring teachers, ones I will miss very much at my new school.

To my fellow Sixth-Year classmates — you are all wonderful people, and I will miss you. I’ve gotten to know all your fun and caring personalities, and I’m thankful that I was able to spend all this time with you. So, thank you to all my current and previous teachers and classmates.

If there’s one final thing I’ve learned at Bridgeview, it’s that change can be a good thing. Whether it be going from the Lower to Upper Elementary class or going to a new school, my teachers have taught me to be excited for a new opportunity. Thankfully, this isn’t the end, it’s just a new chapter in my life, and my time at Bridgeview Montessori has prepared me for it.