Graduation!

My students graduated on Thursday. The boys wore black. The girls wore red. Jonathan Swift got a mention in a speech (he was compared to the irritating banjo music that marks the two-minute mark before the bell, but still!). Lots of students wore cool necklaces made of money or chocolate or hard candies, and I couldn't help but be proud of all of them. High school graduation is the first of many academic achievements for most of them, but it is an achievement. They survived thirteen years of school, and grew up in the meantime, and when they walked across that stage with the biggest smiles I couldn't help but think of my own sons. They'll leave high school and begin something even bigger, and I can't wait to see what all of them will do.

Congratulations, AMES students--especially all of you that had to read Jonathan Swift, and then dig deep into Thoreau's thoroughly terrible puns...you rock!