Eighth graders say farewell to KCS

KENT — Kent Center School held its 96th commence exercise as 24 eighth-grade students graduated in a ceremony held outside in the school’s courtyard on Tuesday, June 11.

Principal Michelle Mott congratulated the Class of 2024, noting their “hard work, dedication and perseverance.” She continued that their “achievements thus far are a testament to your resilience and determination to succeed. Today marks a new beginning and an exciting new chapter in your lives. High school will bring your challenges and opportunities, and will shape your future in ways you cannot yet imagine.”

Class essayist Katherine Joseph Farewell reminisced on the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic had on their academic careers at Kent Center School. “We all know how much everyone struggled during lockdown and how hard it was to try and teach 4th graders over a Zoom call. Even though our parents probably had it the worst with our kids at home, they were able to keep us together and make sure we stayed connected to the Wi-Fi. Our parents have always been there to give us love and motivation in the universe.”

Farewell also looked ahead to the future, noting that the school had prepared the class well for what was to come as they embarked on a new experience in the fall. “High school will bring us many opportunities, and with those opportunities will come challenges. There will be times when you might feel overwhelmed or stressed by a new loss, but then you can take the time to look back and see how far you’ve come. You can look back and see how the obstacles we’ve overcome and all the problems we’ve solved can be motivation to keep us going. And when all else fails, there is always Google. As we close this chapter in our lives and begin a new one, we can all take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and how much we have left to go.”