Faculty Celebrate 2016 Graduates
"Graduates, we enjoy spending time with you. We think you’re interesting people. We like to talk with you. We like to have fun with you, and we enjoy your company."
Such were the admissions made by science teacher Oliver Hay near the start of his address to graduates of the Classes of 2016 and 2017 at the annual Celebration Dinner on June 14. The event was lively and crowded as parents and graduates enjoyed the perfect early-summer weather and shared family-style catering prepared by Scott Flanagan and his team in Shore's kitchen.
[Upper School parents, find more photos from the evening on MyShore.]
Hay was joined by drama teacher Sarah Carlin in sharing recollections and words of advice with the audience. Kicking off the evening, Hay provided evidence to support his admissions, which, while perhaps surprising at a different kind of school, were not in the least surprising at Shore. The picture that emerged was of a group of young people whose relationships, achievements, experiences, and sense of compassion were all equally genuine.
Near the start of the second of the night's faculty addresses, Sarah Carlin made her own admission: "You have been my greatest teachers." Only half in jest, she added, "In Buddhist philosophy, it is those in your life who are most challenging to you, the ones who can get under your skin and drive you just a little crazy, who are called your greatest teachers."
Carlin continued by reflecting on the meaning of Shakespeare's famous quotation, "To thine own self be true." She recalled being an outsider at her own middle school, doing everything but being true to herself.
All that changed in high school, she recounted.
"So, graduates, I invite you to take personal risks when they arise. Not the ones that cause bodily injury or end up costing your parents a lot of money. But the ones that give you butterflies and catch your breath because you know they might shine a light onto a part of you that you keep hidden.
"I think back to that 8th grader I was in 1975 and consider who I thought I was and how little possibility I saw for myself. And I reflect on the journeys of adversity and joy I have lived since then, and feel like I have begun to arrive at that distant day into the answer. Compassion - compassion for yourself and compassion for all. ... The future is yours, and you have the freedom to choose kindness above all, and to do the most good and the least harm – every day, to yourself, to others, and to this wonderful world."
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Such were the admissions made by science teacher Oliver Hay near the start of his address to graduates of the Classes of 2016 and 2017 at the annual Celebration Dinner on June 14. The event was lively and crowded as parents and graduates enjoyed the perfect early-summer weather and shared family-style catering prepared by Scott Flanagan and his team in Shore's kitchen.
[Upper School parents, find more photos from the evening on MyShore.]
Hay was joined by drama teacher Sarah Carlin in sharing recollections and words of advice with the audience. Kicking off the evening, Hay provided evidence to support his admissions, which, while perhaps surprising at a different kind of school, were not in the least surprising at Shore. The picture that emerged was of a group of young people whose relationships, achievements, experiences, and sense of compassion were all equally genuine.
"You have opened doors for each other, carried trays for those on crutches, and lent each other books, calculators, and pencils, sometimes all the while knowing you were never going to get that pencil back.
"You have beautified the campus with the art you created. You have committed yourselves to your performances on stage and while playing in the gyms and on the fields. And you have bonded during long rehearsals and bus rides.
"You have learned to advocate for yourselves by showing up to work with a teacher during Eighth Hour or recess.
"You have embraced new experiences while going on many trips together all over the country, including exploring three islands: Yarmouth, Manhattan, and Merrill Island on Squam Lake. You have developed friendships with, and been role models for, Lower School students during House Meetings.
"You have displayed your love of learning while completing Independent Study projects. You have taken full advantage of recess, no matter the temperature or how hard it was raining.
"You have formed group chats to communicate and harnessed the power of technology in other ways to study together. You have lingered in this dining hall after lunch, enjoying the opportunity to talk and to be together.
"You have developed your ability to listen and to discuss ideas around the Harkness tables. You have enjoyed achieving academic success… and you have also dealt with the frustration of not making as much progress as you had hoped and wanted to.
"You have found delight in the unexpected while completing science lab experiments. You have been curious enough to ask questions…and then more questions…and then more questions.
"You have comforted each other and cried together. You have danced, or what you consider to be dancing, together.
"And, at times, you have done things that have upset someone or frustrated them… But you have also made an effort to learn from those experiences and to overcome those moments to become better people, better friends, and better classmates."
Near the start of the second of the night's faculty addresses, Sarah Carlin made her own admission: "You have been my greatest teachers." Only half in jest, she added, "In Buddhist philosophy, it is those in your life who are most challenging to you, the ones who can get under your skin and drive you just a little crazy, who are called your greatest teachers."
Carlin continued by reflecting on the meaning of Shakespeare's famous quotation, "To thine own self be true." She recalled being an outsider at her own middle school, doing everything but being true to herself.
"I couldn’t succeed at that school for a variety reasons. I didn’t pass some of my classes, my home life was very difficult, and I had a strong resistance to ask any teachers for help. Although I had hidden talents as an athlete and performer, there was no way I was going to put myself out there and try out for anything. I was afraid and full of self-doubt; afraid to fail and confirm in my own mind that I was nothing special."
All that changed in high school, she recounted.
"I was encouraged and prodded by people who supported me, who believed in my potential, and I began to see it myself. I started to dwell in the realm of possibility and regard challenges as exactly what they were - opportunities to grow. Sometimes terrifying, high school was a new start and a launching pad for me, and it gave me the grit and integrity I've carried with me since.
"So, for you all, these are the years – the ones you’re in now – when you’re asking yourself, 'who am I?' 'Who is thine own self?' Despite what many of you think… it is not what you look like, how many followers you have, how much money you earn, how 'hot' you look, whether you’re famous, or uber talented. In my years of gradually acquiring wisdom, I now know that you best discover who your true self is through seeking what you hunger for, and in personal moments of courage, humility, and vulnerability. As much as we all want to avoid experiencing those sometimes painful moments, as Brené Brown said: "Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change."
"So, graduates, I invite you to take personal risks when they arise. Not the ones that cause bodily injury or end up costing your parents a lot of money. But the ones that give you butterflies and catch your breath because you know they might shine a light onto a part of you that you keep hidden.
"I think back to that 8th grader I was in 1975 and consider who I thought I was and how little possibility I saw for myself. And I reflect on the journeys of adversity and joy I have lived since then, and feel like I have begun to arrive at that distant day into the answer. Compassion - compassion for yourself and compassion for all. ... The future is yours, and you have the freedom to choose kindness above all, and to do the most good and the least harm – every day, to yourself, to others, and to this wonderful world."
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Sarah Carlin addressing graduates and their families
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Listening to their teachers
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Oliver Hay
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Mr. Hay's science class around the Harkness table
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Mrs. Carlin on opening night for 'Mary Poppins'
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Catering in Shore's Dining Hall was under the direction of Scott Flanagan
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Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs.