HADLEY – The large white tent erected on the bucolic field of the Hartsbrook School gleamed in the morning sun as friends and family gathered underneath it to celebrate the graduation of this year’s 11 seniors.
The ceremony was bordered by five round open-air classroom tents, spread across the large field. This, along with the speeches of resilience and fortitude, served as a reminder of the challenges that faced the class of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Even though we lost a lot this year and witnessed so much sickness and death, I truly feel we gained much more wisdom about the world, and perspective that allowed us to evolve in ways that we did not know,” graduate and student speaker Caleb Ballantine said.
Ballantine described the class as grounded, supportive and willing to accept and expect the unknown, traits that he said allowed students to embrace the challenging circumstances.
“We were able to be joyful and create community even when we had to stay apart and be isolated in our rooms,” he said.
The Hartsbrook School used distance learning in January and February, then five outdoor classrooms and the school building as students worked in pods.
Benham Bleicher Swansea, chairperson of the school’s board of trustees noted that human interaction, observation, and reflection on those interactions are very large parts of the school’s Waldorf curriculum, making the pandemic particularly challenging, but said the school community rallied to meet the challenge.
“The faculty was flexible, dedicated and willing to try new things,” Bleicher said. “They had outdoor classes in winter and they didn’t just make do they embraced it and reimagined education.”
School Principal Virginia McWilliam spoke of imagination and recalled the courage, strength and imaginative spirit of Yusef Salaam as he served seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
She said that while in prison, Salaam was able to imagine incarceration as preparation for a life fighting for social justice, and that reading his story gave her a greater perspective on facing daily struggles and inspired her with hope.
“The challenges of this year are very different and pale in comparison with the difficulties of his life, but the pandemic has forced us all to open our eyes to what has been there all along and what we now need to see – that we are a civilization searching for humanity,” she said.
McWilliam told the graduates that they were uniquely prepared to take on the task of making the world a better place, telling them to have courage for the truth, to be guided by love, and to listen to one’s feelings.
“We have watched you through difficult times, think big, sustain your courage and stay true to who you wish to be,” she said. “We are proud to be sending you off as a slice of humanity.”
Several graduates spoke of how the Hartsbrook School has been like a family to them.
Saylor Jarvis had attended the school since kindergarten and was brimming with happiness as she spoke of her time there prior to the ceremony.
“This is really meaningful,” she said. “I have been here for 14 years, and I am so glad that we can be together for graduation today.”
Student speaker Rachel Jones credited her experience at Hartsbrook with helping her to overcome her profound shyness, calling the school a supportive second home.
“I feel so lucky to be able to leave this beautiful place with a ton of new friendships, knowledge and experiences that I have gained from just the community alone,” she said. “A class our size allows for a closeness and bond that everyone wants, it’s like we are all teammates and today we are winning the game we have been playing for the last four years.”
In her commencement address, teacher Katharine Payne reminded the students of their universal connection to life and the importance of keenly seeing, hearing and absorbing the events that will help shape their lives.
“These moments offer you a time to connect with who you are, why you are here on this earth and that you are not alone,” she said. “This earth is your home, you are a part of its rhythms and we share a responsibility to connect with the deeper heartbeat of humanity.”
As diplomas were handed out, each student was offered a personalized tribute of their time at the school and good wishes for success at their colleges of choice.
In the parking lot prior to the ceremony parent Phyllis Meredith was happily praising her daughter Meadow Rain Meredith’s accomplishments and decorating her car’s windows with congratulatory graffiti.
“I am very proud of her,” she said, adding that Meadow will be attending Mount Holyoke College in the fall. “All the kids did a great job this year, and despite having to give up a lot, like not having a senior trip, they really rose to the occasion.”
A special section with more graduation news about the Hartsbrook School’s class of 2021 will be published in the Gazette July 2.