Zachary’s high school graduation was this Monday night. The celebrations began last Thursday, with the traditional senior send off. In this event, the high school freshmen each speak about one of the seniors. Since Simon is a freshman, he spoke about Zachary. He did a great job and everyone thought his speech was really funny. He didn’t read it exactly as it’s written, but I’m including the printed text here.
Next, the seniors had their run down the hallway of the lower school, where all the kids line up to give them high fives.
On Friday, we had the honors assembly. Zachary got awards for volunteer service hours, an academic letter, and the President’s Award for Educational Excellence.
On graduation night, I was only able to get a few pictures of Zachary in his cap and gown before the ceremony.
At the ceremony itself, Zachary and two other students celebrated completing a tractate of the Talmud.
Each student has a turn to speak and they all did a great job making their speeches personal to who they are. Zachary spoke about second chances. He mentioned how his bar mitzvah was during Covid and how his class didn’t go on their Heritage Trip but how learning in Israel next year will be a second chance for him.
My friend sent me this picture of her kids watching. Not sure if they were actually watching Zachary at the time, but she said they were!
When each student graduates, the person reading their names out also speaks about what their name means in Hebrew. For Zachary, they said “Zachariah means God has remembered, and indeed Zachary, your presence reminds us of what truly matters. You have anchored yourself in Torah ritual and Jewish learning, not only as an obligation, but as a passion. Whether leading deep questions or standing firm in your sense of right and wrong, you bring a seriousness of purpose that elevates our community. As you head to yeshiva, may you feel the divine presence beside you in your learning, may you uncover layers of Torah that speak directly to your soul, and may you continue to be a living reminder of the strength and beauty of life rooted in Jewish tradition.”
Here they are moving their tassels and tossing their caps.
More pictures at the reception:
Professional pictures were also taken, so maybe I’ll share those when I get them too.
One of the students (the one in the white dress above) made this image of the class. Zachary is depicted as the one looking at his phone in the upper right.
This is his Instagram announcement post from the student council page:
After the ceremony and reception, some of the parents went out for drinks.
It feels sad now that it is over!
