Joined by their teachers, family and friends, the fifth-grade class gathered to celebrate their time in the Lower School and look forward to the transition to sixth grade.

The Closing Ceremony took place in the A.E Finley Activity Center’s Main Arena on Wednesday, June 5, with music provided by the Lower School Orchestra and songs performed by the Lower School Choir and Raving Ravens.

In her welcoming remarks, Head of Lower School Nicole Girvan said:

Throughout the year, our fifth-graders engaged in projects and special events such as performing “A Celebration of World Music!,” leading the Halloween carnival and running the stations for our younger Ravens, packaging 10,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now, collaborating with small groups in social studies to create their own colonies, and designing solutions to questions and challenges and then creating prototypes of their solutions during their engineering unit of study.

This is the year fifth-graders will remember things like cheering on the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup. They’ll remember Fortnight dances like the Floss, Hype or even Orange Justice! Surely they will remember the Williamsburg trip and going to Jellybeans for their end-of-the-year celebration, where their teachers dressed up 80s style in legwarmers, headbands, tutus (except for Mr. Johnson) and sequins!

No matter what the project was or where the class traveled, it has been a year that included happiness and sadness. It was a year that was challenging and rewarding. It was a year when mistakes were made and goals were achieved. Because of this, they are all well prepared for the Middle School.

Three classmates took the stage to share special memories and reflections on their Lower School and fifth-grade experiences. 

Harper Belk said her favorite thing about Ravenscroft is that the community “accepts you as who you are.” She shared a memory from her first-grade class musical, “Going Buggy,” when she got to play a ladybug, describing the challenges of learning her three lines well and how exciting it was to perform on stage in front of family and friends. “Here is where I learned to make friends and lead from here,” she concluded.

Audrey Kalorin talked about her determination to win first place in the Elementary Battle of the Books this year after their team was eliminated in the third round last year. She described how hard she and her teammates prepared and how excited they were to compete. In the end, the Ravenscroft Lower School team won both the district and state contests, an experience Audrey said “changed my life.”

Alexiane Playe talked about how she joined Ravenscroft in second grade and was initially worried about making friends. How quickly she was accepted by her new classmates, she said, is “what makes Ravenscroft such a special place.” She said she is most proud of when she overcame her fear of rejection and asked the boys if she could play basketball with them during recess. Now, she added, more girls play basketball, too.

Everyone in attendance enjoyed a slideshow of highlights from the year, then Head of School Doreen Kelly, Head of Middle School Denise Colpitts and Girvan presented certificates to all of the students. Students and their guests then enjoyed a reception in the auxiliary gym.

Congratulations to our fifth-graders!