SOAR says farewell Sloane, hello mural
Artist Michelle Begley, left, with retiring SOAR Director Linda Sloane in front of the new mural at Salisbury Central School.
Photo by Matthew Kreta
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Kent Center School eighth grader Lyra Wilder receives her diploma with a smile on June 16.
Aly Morrissey
Twenty-three graduates took part in the ceremony, which opened with remarks from students Olivia Cabrera and Seamus Dietrich, followed by a welcome from Principal Michelle Mott.
Graduation essayist Nicholas Love shared an original reflection on his time at the school.
“KCS has been more than just a school,” Love said. “It is where friendships were formed and memories were created.”
Alumna Reegan Blore returned to KCS to deliver guest remarks before Principal Mott and members of the Kent Board of Education presented diplomas to the graduates.
Earlier in the day, students received awards in 22 different categories.
Aly Morrissey
North Canaan Elementary School graduates shoot confetti into the air June 15.
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The individual pieces were woven together into a single work celebrating both their shared community and unique identities. The ceremony concluded with the class singing “Landslide,” accompanied on guitar by Taylor Gulotta and Mr. Reed.
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Edith Louise Losh (left) and Sophia Lynn Dudley take home awards, diplomas June 16.
Patrick L. Sullivan
“I could not have asked for two better leaders,” he said. “Instead of guiding them, they guided me. Their leadership, heart and unique spirit filled the building.”
The students also reflected on their time at Lee H. Kellogg school.
Dudley said that while her time at the school is ending, she will carry her experience with her.
“I will never have to say goodbye to my memories,” she said.
She recalled how her friendship with classmate Losh grew over the years, even when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their second grade year with remote learning.
“It was a difficult change for our teachers and our friends but we made it through,” she said.
Her final piece of advice for younger students was to “slow down, look around, appreciate what life has to offer.”
Patrick L. Sullivan
Losh said she also cherishes the memories and the stories that go with them, and looks forward to her next academic adventure.
“I feel ready to make more memories into stories in high school,” she said. “You all have a chapter in my book.”
Both students received the Peter G. Lawson Citizenship Award. First Selectman David Barger praised the pair for their “dedication to the community in quiet and insightful ways.”
English teacher Christine Dascanio praised the students' selfless spirits and relayed a joke about the pair.
“We can’t be a sandwich because there’s nothing between us!”
Dudley won the Superintendent’s Award, Losh won the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Leadership Award, and they both won the Presidential Award of Educational Excellence.
Eighth-grade graduates at Cornwall Consolidated School toss their caps into the air June 16.
Aly Morrissey
CCS principal Leanne Maguire reflected on her three years with the class, saying she had watched the students grow from sixth graders into confident young adults. She said the school’s theme, “Out of this Word,” was about more than just academic success or awards – though many were distributed during the ceremony.
“A school’s culture doesn’t become ‘out of this world’ just because of data points or awards on the wall,” Maguire said. “It happens because of the people who set the gravity.”
Calling the graduates leaders and role models, she said, “You have been the gravitational pull of our school this year. You didn’t just hold a title. You built genuine, connected relationships and showed our younger students what kindness, inclusion and true leadership look like in action.”
The students’ Troutbeck Symposium project was highlighted by several speakers, who praised their work researching Naomi Kane Freeman.
“You unearthed history and brought profound recognition to our town,” Maguire said, referencing the section of Great Hollow Road that was given the honorary designation of Naomi Freeman Historic Road in recognition of the woman believed to be the first Black landowner in Cornwall. She purchased an acre of land in 1828, according to the Cornwall Historical Society. Student work also led to the placement of a headstone for Freeman at Calhoun Cemetery.
Student speakers were Halley Villa-Arip and Izabella Francesca Coppola, while Tom Brown, Class of 1970, was the guest speaker and delivered humorous and poignant remarks.
The graduates were Claire O. Barbosa, Willow B. Berry, Skylar Corinne Brown, Izabella Francesca Coppola, Vivienne Laurie DiRocca, Willa Elizabeth Lesch, Franco Aburto Nenen, and Halley Villa-Arpi.
Aly Morrissey
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