“You have participated in one of the most well-resourced educations the world can offer,” said Head of School Melissa Soderberg to our Class of 2021 at Convocation, usually held during the opening week of school but delayed to mid-October this year because of the pandemic. “What responsibility do you have, if any, to people you meet in your life who have not had access to the same opportunity?”

It was just one of several questions posed to our seniors, who were the only students invited to watch in person while socially distanced on the Quad. The rest of the Upper School watched via live-stream, and the ceremony only included the Head of School’s address and a speech by Student Council President Vaughn Armour.

“This energy that you feel when you come on campus and nowhere else…” stated Armour in his address. “I like to call this energy the Academy spirit. It can’t be covered by a mask, but like COVID-19 it is very much contagious. The Academy spirit is something unique to us as a community. And nothing can take that away. A virus certainly can’t.”

The much-anticipated matching of Senior-Kindergarten Buddies will happen during a separate event still to be announced.