In a celebration bursting with anticipation, students and their families gathered for the Lower School Moving Up Ceremony Friday, June 10, 2022. The ceremony marks the start of middle school for fifth grade students and the successful completion of the school year for the lower school students. View photos here. You can watch the whole ceremony below. 

“The end of a year provides an opportunity for reflection,” said Head of School Carol Maoz. “I am deeply moved by the dedication of King School teachers and appreciate the support we receive and the partnership we form with you, our lower school families, and greatly admire the hard work and tenacity of our students, added Maoz.

As students were recognized for their academic achievements, they were commended by Head of the Lower School Dr. Sandy Lizaire-Duff for the community they built on the King virtues of kindness, respect, perseverance, and integrity.

“To belong, to be included, to have friends, those are the words that I’ve heard your children say throughout the year,” she said. “They’ve explored the world around them together, asking questions, researching, contemplating, planning, debating, creating, sharing, presenting, having fun, and celebrating. They’ve helped each other and worked together in community, and in doing so, they found out they could trust each other. In doing so, they found out they could trust their teachers. In doing so, they found out they like their community and the people in their lives.”

This sense of community was demonstrated by the three fifth grade speakers, Aniya Garcia, Alex Baker, and Rohan Pookkootil, who took turns at the podium as they delivered a speech together. 

“Now that we are leaving the Lower School we realize the strong bond we have as a community here,” they said. “The Lower School is a really special place where we have been nurtured and cared for. We feel ready to go onto Middle School with confidence and knowledge.”

The ceremony included speeches by class speakers Lucas Chernet and Piper Prince, who moved up to fourth grade, and Tucker Brennan and Varsha Bennabattula, who moved up to fifth grade. They each reflected on a range of memories from field trips and science experiments to author visits and spike ball, but at the center of it all was a shared enthusiasm for next year.

“This has been an extraordinary chapter in our King story, but now it’s time to turn the page and start a new one,” said the fifth grade trio. “So Middle School, get ready because here we come!”