Congratulations Class of 2019

Presenting the Class of 2019

Pictured left to right, beginning with the back row: Colton Largay, Kelyn Kiecza, Jacob Gregor, Henry Burnham, Eli Burger, Philippe Pitts, Dylan Skenderian, Sebastian Brandt, Ronan Mullan, Mina Cho, Lena Cantor, Sonia Kim, Eden Lewis, Everett Dalton, Paul Lyons, Brennan Thomson, Sophie Dornstein, Sophie Myers, Sadie Levy, Elena Dainora Cohen, Sonya Lyons, Isabella Kim, Nico Rimer, Stella Balter, Cole Lemack-Bremen, Max Simon, Avery Blacklow, Kaeleen Chen, Ellie Kadnar, Vivian Danahy, Alice Morton, Jazmin Cruz, and Julian Tinmouth.

BELMONT DAY SCHOOL | Annual Report 2018-19, page 6

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2019!

On June 12, faculty and families gathered to celebrate and bid farewell to the Class of 2019. This inspiring group of young people is ready to take on the opportunities and challenges of high school and beyond. Graduates Henry Burnham, Sonia Kim, and Elena Dainora Cohen were selected by their peers and teachers to share their memories and aspirations for the future at the graduation ceremony.

“Throughout my Belmont Day life, I have created moments that I want to bring with me next year. I want to find new traditions that will affect me as the Belmont Day ones do, I want to find more people who will help me become my best self, no matter how I compare to others. And I want to find a place where I can look for birds and remember my years at BDS and all the great memories I created. The clear and vibrant ones, like Señor [Yepes] always helping me push myself, or the ones that aren't clear and I will never truly remember, but that I will be able to see reflected in other people. But there were also memories created that will forever be with me, like singing “This Little Light Of

Mine,” or looking for red-winged blackbirds on my way to school.” Henry Burnham ’19

“I was always encouraged as a reader and a learner and taught to do my best on my schoolwork. I will leave Belmont

Day with a feeling of academic excellence. But in fact, there is another kind of excellence I will leave with, one I never thought I would gain. BDS has helped me to become an athlete. I never thought of myself as one when I was younger. I was never good at soccer, the quintessential little-kid sport, and I didn’t enjoy it either. I always felt like the bookish girl, not the athletic one. But that all changed in fifth grade, when I discovered field hockey, now my favorite sport and one I don’t believe I’m terrible at. Lacrosse, which I at first thought I would hate, is another sport I love. I’m so proud to be able to say I was chosen to be a captain for both of these teams, and while I am still certainly a bookish girl, I now consider myself an athletic one too. Belmont Day does an exceptional job of letting kids be anything they want to be; one-dimensional labels are discarded, and kids are free to grow as people.” Elena Dainora Cohen ’19

Class of 2019 Secondary Schools

Arlington High School Belmont High School (2) Belmont Hill School Boston University Academy Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (2) Cambridge School of Weston (6) Concord Academy (6) Gann Academy Groton School Milton Academy Northfield Mount Hermon School John D. O’Bryant High School Phillips Andover Academy Pingree School (2) Proctor Academy St. John’s Prep Thacher School Winsor School

Use the QR code to read “ BDS has shown me I am the future, my class, my generation is the future, and it’s up to us to change the world. the complete speeches.

In Sweden, Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old girl, is inspiring thousands of children to protest for our planet. Belmont Day has helped show me I can do this too. Freedom Night was my first realization that my peers and I can create an entire play and different projects to help educate people and give them different perspectives on things. And not too long ago, my peers and I went through this journey called Capstone. Even though I was overwhelmed with everything, this was so empowering for me. I wrote a 20-page paper, conducted experiments, made a movie, made a 3D printed model, and programmed lights. The list could go on. I never thought that I would ever be able to do this in a lifetime, but it’s

Belmont Day that has shone a spotlight on what we can all create.” Sonia Kim ’19 BELMONT DAY SCHOOL | Annual Report 2018-19, page 7