Woven Together: Celebrating the Class of 2030
On June 10, Nightingale’s Class of 2030 gathered with families, friends, and professional community members for Class VIII’s annual Moving Up Ceremony, marking the culmination of their Middle School years and the beginning of an exciting new chapter.
Held in the H. Dale Hemmerdinger Auditorium, the ceremony celebrated the achievements, friendships, and growth that have defined the Class of 2030’s journey while honoring the community that has supported them along the way. Through speeches, poetry, music, and student-created videos, members of the class reflected on their time in Middle School and looked ahead to what comes next.
Class VIII Dean and Classics Faculty Member Kristin Webster opened the ceremony by recognizing the class’s distinctive spirit and accomplishments. Throughout her remarks,
Ms. Webster highlighted the qualities that have made the class memorable: their willingness to embrace new experiences, their care for one another, and their drive to innovate and lead.
“In a world where it’s easy to stand back and watch, you choose to participate—and you participate joyfully and wholeheartedly,” Ms. Webster said. “Never lose that joyful, courageous spark that each of you possess.”
Head of School Paul A. Burke followed with reflections on the significance of the occasion, noting the unique place Moving Up occupies in the life of the school. As he advised them on their next chapter, Mr. Burke offered the class a memorable tidbit as they prepared for Upper School: “Go to sleep.”
While his recommendation drew laughter from the audience, the message noted a deeper truth about caring for oneself during times of growth and change—especially in Upper School as they navigate advanced courses and pre-college prep. Middle School Co-presidents Skye B. ’30 and Juliette S. ’30 then addressed their classmates, each offering heartfelt reflections on friendship, belonging, and the passage of time. Drawing inspiration from a poem studied in Class VII, Skye reflected on the realization that meaningful moments often pass before we recognize their significance.
“What I learned in my time at Nightingale is that you never realize something is important while it’s happening,” she said. “You think there’s always going to be another day, and then suddenly that was the last day.”
She expressed gratitude to teachers, families, and classmates alike, concluding, “Thank you for being my friends, for growing up beside me, and for turning these years into something I’ll spend the rest of my life remembering.”
Juliette reflected on her arrival at Nightingale as a new student and the sense of belonging she found within the community. “For inside those blue doors was an entire world beyond my wildest imagination,” she said.
Juliette then celebrated the teachers, staff, and friendships that shaped her Middle School experience. Looking out at her classmates, she reflected on the enduring bonds they have formed, noting that “the friendships we’ve developed during Middle School will stand the test of time.”
Throughout the ceremony, students showcased their creativity and talents: Juliette created a video montage highlighting memories from the Class of 2030’s years together, while classmates Alisa A. ’30 and Ivana C. ’30 performed an original poem titled “Halfway Through the Door”, Ella A-G. ’30 and Bebe B. ’30 sang a duet of “We’re Going to Be Friends” by The White Stripes with new lyrics, and Isa M. ’30 created cover artwork for the ceremony program.
Alisa and Ivana’s poem captured the emotions of standing between what has been and what lies ahead, describing a class poised between childhood and the opportunities of Upper School. “It might break us a little,” they recited, “but at its core, we’re the Class of 2030 forevermore.”
Class speakers Chloe L. ’30 and Beatrice M. ’30 continued the theme of reflection and gratitude. Framing her remarks as a letter to Middle School, Chloe acknowledged both the challenges and joys of the past four years.
“You gave us friendships we didn’t see coming, friendships that made boring days better and hard days manageable,” she said.
Looking back on class trips, advisory conversations, and everyday moments with classmates, she thanked Middle School for helping the class become “people we’re proud to be.”
Beatrice reflected on the many different paths that brought students together as one class.
“If you could take a single thread from each of our journeys here...and weave them together, you would get something strong, something complicated, and something beautiful,” she said. “You would get us, the Class of 2030.”
She described Middle School as a time of growth, resilience, and discovery, emphasizing that the relationships formed over the years will continue long after students leave the sixth floor.
“The thing about threads is that once they’ve been woven together, you can’t completely pull them apart,” she said.
Closing the ceremony, Head of Middle School Shazia Durrani congratulated students on reaching this important milestone and reflected on the privilege of spending her first year at Nightingale alongside the Class of 2030.
“Your energy, your curiosity, your humor, and your heart made every moment of this past year memorable,” she said. “Being with all of you has made this one of the most special years in my 25-year career.”
Drawing on lessons from the book Walking to Listen by Andrew Forstofel, Ms. Durrani encouraged students to approach the years ahead with openness, curiosity, and attentiveness.
“What Andrew found, walking across a country full of strangers, is that the moment you actually stop and listen, something shifts,” she said.
“You stop thinking about how you come across and start actually taking the other person in the conversation becomes real—and that’s where understanding begins—not in what we want to say, but in what we’re willing to hear…What he discovered is that listening, truly listening, can be one of the most powerful ways to grow, connect, and understand others.”
Finally, each member of the Class of 2030 received a beautiful fuchsia rose and a hug from Ms. Webster. As the last member took her seat, the audience stood, clapping and excitedly cheering for their children as they were pronounced: Upper Schoolers.
