14 from Sharon Center School step forward to high school

By Cynthia HochswenderSHARON — Sharon Center School’s class of 2011 moved up on Thursday night from eighth grade to high school in a ceremony that was brisk and, for the most part, unemotional. There were no notable displays of tears or laughter. The students didn’t seem especially eager to leave elementary school, nor did they seem especially keen on remaining in its safe cocoon.Perhaps it was the small size of this year’s class, with a total of 14 students (only two of them are boys). Or perhaps this was an unusually mature and pragmatic class; certainly, many of the students in this class have older siblings who have already paved the way to high school and beyond.The ceremony began with a processional of the students into the auditorium. The young ladies strode gracefully and confidently on their high-heeled shoes, all of them wearing formal gowns that stopped just above their knees. It was a warm night and the young men wore shirts and ties but no jackets.Essays were read by Janelle Leslie and Hannah Schewtschenko.Janelle said she had been inspired by the words of poet Bruce Williamson, who wrote: Walk in the rain,smell flowers,stop along the way,build sandcastles,go on field trips,find out how things work,tell stories,say the magic words,trust the Universe.Her essay and her memories of school were crafted around those thoughts as she recalled friendships and fights among her peers (that always resolved back into friendship by the next morning), time spent in the sandbox as a child and time spent roaming the hallways as a young adult. “From the first day of school to the end of my life, I will always remember the good, the bad and the ugly of my nine years here,” she said. “But today is the end.”Hannah’s essay was crafted around memories of hanging by her knees from the monkey bars. That image was interspersed with thoughts about the future, and about the changes that will come as the eighth-graders go from being at the “top” class to being at the bottom again, as high school freshmen. It’s as though, she said, she was hanging from the monkey bars and the recess bell had just rung. “This day is our recess bell. We have to now ease our way off the monkey bars.”Science teacher JoEllen Niedeck was surprised with an honorary diploma, commemorating her 11 years at the school. Class of 2011Margaret Ellen BristowMelissa Rose CaenersZachary Thomas CarberryAlexis Laralye FreudenbergMikaela Gabrielle GalmVictoria Elizabeth GoldenKayla Marie LaneJanelle Olivia LeslieGillian Mary McGuireHope Forrest MorseCody William NettletonMackenzie Ann RileyHannah Elizabeth SchewtschenkoDana Ashley Tompkins2011 AwardsAmerican Legion Award: Dana TompkinsElizabeth Gobillot Service Award: Victoria Golden The Mary Holst-Grubbe Awards: Mackenzie RileyThe Sharon School Cup Award: Alexis FreudenbergSharon Lions Club Award: Janelle LeslieThe Lions Club Honorary Award: Hannah SchewtschenkoThe Jack “Compo” Comporesi Athletic Award: Margaret BristowThe Charlotte T. Unz Award: Hope Morse and Zachary Carberry The Tri-Arts Drama Award: Dana Tompkins The Sharon School Scholarship Award: Caitlin BrostekThe Sharon Faculty Award: Gillian McGuire The American Citizenship Award: Margaret Bristow, Melissa Caeners, Alexis Freudenberg, Victoria Golden and Hope MorseThe President’s Award for Educational Excellence: Gillian McGuireThe President’s Award for Educational Achievement: Melissa Caeners, Alexis Freudenberg, Hope Morse and Dana TompkinsThe Sharon School Awards: Victoria Golden, Hope Morse, Zachary Carberry The Sharon School Writing Award: Hannah SchewtschenkoThe Sharon School Foreign Language Award: Mikaela Galm The Ted Christinat Science Award: Hope MorseThe Sharon Center School Art Award: Margaret BristowThe Sharon Center School Eighth Grade Honor Roll Awards: Melissa Caeners, Alexis Freudenberg, Hope Morse, Gillian McGuire and Dana TompkinsMiddle School Honor Roll Awards: Gillian McGuire and Hope Morse

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