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Charlottesville Waldorf School eighth grade class participates in progressive graduation

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Charlottesville Waldorf School
A socially distant Graduation – with only nine students in the 2020 graduating eighth grade class, the students were able to come together for a physically-distanced in-person ceremony to receive their diplomas from their class teacher. Parents in the parking lot watched via zoom and honked horns to celebrate. Photo by Anne Coyner.

This year, graduations around the world looked a lot different, and the Charlottesville Waldorf School was no exception.

The traditional community celebration of the graduating eight-graders’ achievements not being possible, the students instead participated in a series of small, in person gatherings and online events.

Each event was recorded, and the final series was presented to the community on the scheduled day of graduation, Thursday, June 4.

The graduation series includes speeches from class teacher Melissa Drumeller and from each of the students, a recorded zoom meeting where the students thanked all the teachers from their time at CWS, a recorded Zoom event with the students receiving congratulations from the current first grade class, speeches from two class parents, a music video of the class arrangement of the Beatles song “In My Life”, and photos of each student receiving their diploma.

There are also galleries of student work and a slideshow of photos from their time at CWS.

“While it was sad to miss your graduation in person,” one school parent commented, “What a beautiful collection you have put together!”

For students at the Charlottesville Waldorf School, eighth grade graduation means the end of their time at the school, a journey that for many began in preschool. This transition from middle school to high school is made particularly meaningful when students are leaving a small, close-knit class to attend many different high schools in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties.

Graduates from the Waldorf School go on to attend private and public high schools.

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