GRADUATION: A LOOK BACK
Dedham Country Day School Celebrates the Conclusion of the School Year and Graduation of the Class of 2020—Virtually and In-Person By Leslie Bowen
DCD
celebrated the conclusion of its 117th school year in a non-traditional way celebrating each student virtually with two special events: a Closing Assembly on Thursday, June 4, and the graduation of the Class of 2020 on Friday, June 5. These virtual events were followed by an in-person, outdoor, socially distanced celebration held on August 24. The Closing Assembly, normally held as part of graduation, took on its own identity this year with the theme DCD Rocks!, and featured a surprise: a rock with the DCD logo printed on it, which participants received in the mail and opened together during the assembly, a play on the “DCD Rocks” logo of last year’s DCD Fair. Students and faculty talked about why DCD rocks, what it means to them, and how it helps them stay strong. During the assembly, Head of Lower School Carla Haith presented the Dietsch Prize, awarded annually to a Lower School student in honor of Alice Dietsch, a DCD faculty member from 1930 to 1976, for Kindness, Curiosity, and Love of Learning, to fifth-grader Jocelyn Riordan.
Head of School Allison Webster recognized faculty members for their years of service: Elaine Gage for 25 years, Sue Shirley for 35 years, and Mary Ellen Maloney for 40 years. She also honored Librarian Marge Farquharson, who is retiring after 33 years, mentioning her contributions over the years, not just as a librarian but also as a teacher in fourth and eighth grades and as one of the founders of the Facing History program at DCD (see article on page 44). She also acknowledged departing faculty Liza D’Hemecourt, Caiti Pina, and Val Celis. The next day, twenty-six graduates and their families participated in a remote Zoom webinar that featured many of the same elements of the traditional in-person ceremony, including music, a choral performance, and the presentation of awards and diplomas. President of the Board of Trustees Mark R. Epker gave the trustees’ greeting, welcoming everyone. Reflecting on a decade of being a DCD student, Class of 2020 speaker Abby Rochelle commented, “Yes, we lost a lot this year, and the pandemic will certainly be part of our
history. But it doesn’t change who we are, how we’ve connected, and what we’ve learned together.” Eighth-Grade Advisor Brenda Leith presented the Charlotte Lowell Award to Marin Reeds. The award is given annually to a graduating eighth-grader since 1927 in memory of Charlotte Lowell, 1918–1927, for Friendliness, Kindness, and Unselfishness. Head of Middle School Nate Buffum presented the Lisa Sutherland Award to Riggs Catlin. The award is given annually to a graduating eighth grader in memory of Lisa Sutherland, 1960–1975, for Excellence in Academics, Athletics, and the Arts. Nate spoke about each graduate’s unique strengths and accomplishments during the presentation of diplomas. Four eighth-grade members of the Middle School Chorus—Irini Kolovos, Maggie McKee, Summer Perry, and Abby Rochelle,— provided a musical interlude with their song “One Voice” which they performed separately, then combined the videotaped segments into one song that was beautifully melded together. In her remarks, “The Monk and the Raspberry,” Head of School Allison Webster
Left to right, this page, students accepted diplomas remotely from Head of Middle School Nate Bufffum with their parents in June; students left their mark on the halls of the middle school and signed each others’ yearbooks during the in-person Culiminating Activities and Reunion Event in August. 38
