Lake Champlain Waldorf School graduates class of 2015

Saturday’s Commencement Ceremony was the first graduation at Lake Champlain Waldorf School’s new high school campus on Bostwick Road in Shelburne.

Arcangelo CorelliÕs “Vivace,” performed by the Lake Champlain Student Quartet, echoed over the school fields during the opening of the commencement ceremony at the Lake  Champlain Waldorf School’s new high school campus on Saturday, June 6. Later, the 15 students in the class of 2015 gave a parting artistic gift to the school community, singing in four-part harmony.

Steven Crimy, a member of the humanities faculty and the class’ advisor for the last four years, described each student to the gathered parents, friends, and teachers before presenting their diplomas. He spoke not just about their accomplishments, but about a unique quality that each brought to the class and to the Lake Champlain Waldorf School.

For the graduation ceremony, the school drew upon the rich festivals and celebrations that mark each student’s career. On the first day of each school year, every first grade student walks through a flowered arbor, and is given a rose by a high school senior who welcomes them into the school community. At the graduation ceremony, each senior received a rose once more, marking the completion of their education. In the week before the ceremony, students had hand-embroidered their names onto their graduation sashes. Upon receiving their diplomas, graduates turned their sashes to reveal the row of stitched names there, joining the ranks of alumni who had done the same.

Commencement speaker Christopher Ramos, woodworking teacher at the school and a Shelburne craftsman, gave an address full of humor and warmth. Drawing on his deep relationship with the students over the last three years, Ramos closed his speech with a last piece of advice: “Remember to say, I love you, when you need to. And so I say to you, I love each of you, class of 2015, and wish you the best as you go forward.”