Kellogg students saw ‘constant change’

FALLS VILLAGE   With rain in the forecast, the  Class of 2023 at Lee H. Kellogg School had their commencement ceremonies inside on Wednesday, June 14.

There were six eighth grade students promoted to ninth grade: Chase Tyler Ackerman, Hayden Marias Bachman, Grace Olivia Graney, Aiden James Krupa, and Jasper Hidalgo Oyanadel.

A seventh student, Santino Balomiro Scott, attended and  was listed as an “honorary graduate,” as he spent the bulk of the school year at Kellogg before his family moved.

In their remarks, several students referred to the disruption of school caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolfe said she and her classmates persevered “despite constant changes, virtual and in-person,” and Graney said that her class, which was in fifth grade when the lockdowns began, would be the ones who tell future generations about it.

Selectman David Barger presented Graney with the Peter G. Lawson Citizenship Award, and principal Stacey Calo attended to the Presidential Award of Educational Excellence (Graney and Wolfe) and the Presidential Award of Educational Achievement (Bachman and Oyanadel).

Region One Superintendent Lisa Carter noted that Bachman was the winner of this year’s Litchfield County Superintendent’s Award.

The students received their certificates and, per Kellogg custom, a copy of “The Little Engine That Could.”

There were refreshments after the ceremony.