There's Time to Remember...

There's Time to Remember...

Ray W. Allen joined the Folsom staff, students and their families to celebrate graduation from the Folsom School this past Tuesday evening at the Folsom School. His speech highlighted the importance of making healthy choices, doing the best with what you have and seizing opportunities as they are presented. He used his own life experiences, such as a felictous trip to Michigan that led him to India and he used references to exemplary lives. For example, he shared stores about a paraplegic friend that is fully employed and a father of three. Perhaps the most important gift he shared was animating the persons behind many of the named awards. These comments connected the recent graduates to their predecessors and to their community in ways that no one anticipated.
Macie Bessette received The Gertrude Santor Award and Keegan O'Hara received the Rolland Gifford award. Silva Warren was awarded the Sarah Boardman Award whereas Ian Sasso-Spaulding was given the Diana Rabourne award. Isabella Fearn received the Kaye Carter Award and the School Board selected Whitney Maxham  as the 2011 recepient of the Ronald B. Memorial Scholarship.

Maggie Robistow started the evening with the pledge of allegiance. Mrs. Lemieux followed with readings from "The Places You Will Go" by Dr. Suess. The 8th graders, led by Maggie Robistow, Keegan O'Hara and Silva Warren, performed their class speech with humor, poise and theatrics that included a wave, the volcano and a long list of competition driven injuries. The students embedded these elements with a retelling of their most significant experiences over the past nine years. Likewise, the 7/8 teachers, Julie Pidgeon and Paul Fitzgerald, commented on some of their memories of each student over the past two years and infused humor and sincerity as well. Izzy Fearn  sang an inspired and passionate version of  "Live Out Loud" and Silva Warren gracefully fluted "Simple Gifts" with piano accompaniment from Mrs. Little.

The graduating class is sending students to Essex, Colchester and South Burlington. The students plan to use their Folsom education to support their pursuits in sports, theater, music, technology and accelerated classes like Accelerated Geometry, French Two and Honors English.