8th Grade Speeches
Each June, 8th-grade students transitioning from New School to high school have the opportunity to participate in a special promotion ceremony. At this ceremony, in front of an audience of families, peers, teachers, and community members, each student delivers a two-minute speech to the large audience, that reflects on what they've learned in middle school, and how they have grown as a learner and as a person. These speeches are a wonderful way to cap off a 3-year journey of growth and change and are often insightful and touching. Here are a few snippets from the past year's speeches.
New School has taught me so much, from the successes to the failures, even if it took once or twice or 10 times to get the lesson, it usually finds a way. Even if there had been times when I would go to my calendar and count down the days to summer, there were more times I would count down because I didn’t want it to end.
It’s hard to say what changed my attitude, my perspective. Maybe it was the wonderful collection of people I connected with, maybe it was thanks to the support of my teachers and parents, but I think what really happened was that I realized I am my own strength. No one else is going to make me strong but me, and it’s this realization that allowed me to steady myself and start to move towards that brighter future.
In New school we’ve had some fun times. Sailing, camping and rafting. New School is fun, but we also have a very rigorous curriculum. I want to talk about the moment that I started to see that putting the work in really affects how you do. In the past I didn’t do very well on the small science quizzes that we would have every once in a while. I thought for a long time that I just got stressed during those quizzes and there was a disconnect in my brain, but I eventually realized that this was not it. I wasn’t studying as effectively as I thought. During this time I was supported by my parents, we would study together, once I did that I started to do well on the quizzes.
I never felt like I did belong, so I expected the same for this year. Of course, when you’re introduced to a new environment—take me, going to New School—you’d feel out of place. What I didn’t expect was growing out of that sensation so quickly...To put it simply, what I’ve learned is that change is a good thing. It’s scary, yes, but sometimes it lets you meet those who you’re already thinking you’ll be friends with for a long, long time.
