Processional
Download the Powerpoint Presentation which was shown to the tune of "Pomp & Circumstance".

The Amazing Kindergarten Adventure
Kindergarten Graduation ’08

Presented by:
Sharon Carver (Children's School Director)

At graduation, the speaker’s job is to help the graduates, their families, and their friends to think about the learning they have done and plan for more learning in the future. As I’ve watched you this year, I’ve been amazed at the many adventures you’ve had. Today, I’ll remind you of some ways you have learned by being open to adventure.

As kindergartners, you have explored the adventure of life from the tiny beginnings of seeds that grow what Native Americans call “the three sisters” – corn, beans, and squash to the delicate process of monarch caterpillars transforming into butterflies.  Dr. Kauffman showed you pictures of what babies look like when they are still very small inside their mommies’ bodies, and you could see growing chicks when you candled the eggs and then watched them hatch.  You’ve also learned about the biggest land animals and discovered that it takes your whole class a week to drink the 25 gallons of water one African elephant drinks in a day and that it takes 4 or 5 kindergarten friends to equal the weight of one 200 pound baby elephant.

Your class has traveled far and wide as you’ve learned about Australia’s aboriginal people and the art they make, fascinating wildlife – like the koala, and the Great Barrier Reef – all on the other side of the world where it’s already night time.  Since only a few of you have been lucky enough to travel to Australia for real, you all imagined taking a long trip there in the pretend airplane you made. 
You’ve had other pretend adventures by flying to Outer Space via rocket ship and going back in time to consider how Native Americans lived in our country long ago.  Along the way, you’ve learned about how clever people can be with inventing lots of different ways to live well with the resources they have available to them.

Your creativity has been amazing this year too.  You practiced sewing when you were studying Fabric, and you got to try new styles of dance with some of our grown up students on campus.  The Art & Artists unit gave you opportunities to try pointillism, be inspired by Monet’s water lilies, and use your own combinations of colors, lines & shapes to create pictures.  It’s always an adventure when you create something new!

As we got close to the end of the year, it was fun to see how many inches taller you’ve grown as well as to see you getting stronger, losing baby teeth and getting your permanent teeth.  It’s even better to consider all the new things you can do now that weren’t possible at the beginning of the year.  Some of you learned to cross the monkey bars, to play checkers (and even beat the grownups), to read, to tie your shoes, and to be a kind friend. Isn’t it neat that each one of you is so unique that you not only look different, but you’ve also learned different skills so you can have different adventures.  You saw the same variety when you watched eggs that looked pretty similar crack open to reveal 27 chicks with such different color patterns and behavior.

Even though you’re all different, you also learned that you can work together to help others.  With the help of your parents and teachers, you gave us a new adventure - the Children’s School’s first-even trike-a-thon for Ally’s Angels to raise money so that other friends like Ally can have operations to fix their bodies the way that Ally did.  We’re all proud of you for doing your best – whether you rode a scooter or a trike or a two-wheeler.

I hope that you’ll remember all these lessons as your adventures take you to new schools and new places throughout your life.  You’ll have amazing adventures if you remember to respect the life that’s around you, to be open to the whole wide world, to be creative, to learn something new so that you’ll grow each day, and to help others along the way.

Congratulations on your graduation from kindergarten!  You have grown and learned so much. Good Luck, and thank you for being a part of the Children’s School family.

Teacher Appreciation
As you can see from the learning experiences we’ve discussed this morning, the quality of our kindergarten program is primarily a result of the combined talents of our teaching team - Mrs. Perovich, Miss Hancock and Ms. Broughton.  Naturally, they are also supported in many ways by the entire staff, especially Miss McMichael, who leads cooking classes and together with Mrs. McGillen teaches the gym classes.  This year, as always, all the teachers work as a team to support our school programs. Let’s all give them all a round of applause to show our appreciation.

Download the Powerpoint Presentation that accompanies this speech.

Presentation of Diplomas

At this point, we'll present the diplomas. Each child will walk..., turn and smile for a photo, and return to his or her seat.

Let's give a round of applause for the graduates.

Kindergarten Slide Show "Forever Young"

Our parting gift to you is a slide show of Special Memories set to the music of Forever Young.

Download the Kindergarten 2008 "Forever Young" Slideshow here. The song " Forever Young" will need to be purchased by itunes if you would like it to accompany the slideshow.

Transition to Photos / Celebration Picnic
Thanks to all of you for celebrating the kindergarten graduation with us.  At this time, the children will exit first, receive their actual diplomas, and wait for families in the hallway.  We hope all of you will join us there in a few minutes to collect the children. You have about 30 minutes to take photos, change clothes, etc.  Please then make your way to the Camp David Lawrence Pavilion in Schenley Park for the whole school picnic from 11-1.  Enjoy the rest of the celebrations!