Page 29 - Priorities #70

Promoting with Promise
On May 31, 2018, 31 students from the Class of 2022 stood front stage in the Rothrock Performance Hall, ready to take in their last moments of middle school. Head of Upper School and Assistant Head of School, Brian Schlaak, referred to the group as Generation Z, currently the largest generational group in the U.S. Schlaak explained that this generation tends to communicate with video and movies, rather than simply by text or voice and “will go forward as the most educated and diverse generation in American history.”
Student speaker, Remy Fu ’22, shared his special memories with a focus on the Performing Arts. Remy was involved in the Middle School Choir and stage tech. Often, after a theater set was completed, Fu enjoyed being able to say “I put together that window,” or “I was the one who painted that wall.” Fu’s elation for Performing Arts beamed when he spoke about the MS Choir, “The Middle
School Choir is one of my favorite things here at Priory and I am
so glad to be able to sing with them.”
The second student speaker, John Max Byrne ’22, also
served as the Middle School ASB President. John Max put an
emphasis on the unique welcoming traits that the Priory middle
school offers. “I was taught that I would be confronted with
bullies and indifferent teachers all throughout my academic life,
regardless of what school I went to. Woodside Priory has proved that idea wrong,” said Byrne. He applauded the strength of the Class of 2022 who “accepted each other for who we were, not for who we want them to be.”
Chosen faculty speaker, Todd Turner had many words of wisdom to pass along to the 31 members of the Class of 2022. He used his experiences from playing college baseball to emphasize the value of community. “I am reminded of two of my teammates at Washington, Johnny Burke and Kevin Stocker,” said Turner. “Sometimes we were too hard on ourselves and Johnny was able to remind us of the things we did right. I encourage you to remember the good that is in you. If you look around, I bet you will find people like Johnny.” Turner reminded them to “surround yourself with the right people,” to get the most out of their gifts.
29
Remy Fu
Middle School commencement speaker Todd Turner.
John Max Byrne
MS GRADUATION