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From Streams to the Seas
From Streams to the Seas

In delivering the final Senior Chapel Talk of the academic year, School President Grace Charles ’24 referenced Nobel Laureate Hermann Hesse's classic novel, Siddhartha, and the representation of the river. She suggested that each Pomfret student starts as a small stream with their own distinct origin and gradually deepens and expands as they gain wisdom during their time on the Hilltop. “Our respective journeys do not end here. We will merge and flow into seas carrying with us the relationships formed in this space as our movement continues,” she said. “When our paths inevitably diverge, we will still possess the essence of our shared experience. Our departure from this place is not merely an end but a continuation of the flow of life. Our impact has never and will never be confined to this space. They are a part of a larger current.” Her speech was a poignant beginning to Senior Week, which appropriately included a trip down the river.

 

The Class of 2024 showed resilience when Mother Nature once again attempted to foil the Sundial Ceremony tradition. After sweltering temperatures at the start of the academic year altered the traditional opening Sundial Ceremony evening, the Closing Sundial Ceremony was rescheduled to earlier in the week due to the threat of thunderstorms. Before the ceremony began, the Class of 2024 assembled on the Proctor Sundial, snapping photos, laughing, cheering, and shedding a few tears. Director of Spiritual Life Bobby Fisher delivered a supportive and heartfelt invocation as faculty and underformers encircled them in a symbolic show of support. 

Boys at prom.

The following evening, the juniors and seniors returned to the School Building Lawn, donning their best apparel. After posing for photos, they piled onto buses headed for Prom at the Mansion At Bald Hill. Coordinated by the Class of 2025, the evening, entitled “An Enchanted Forest,” included a delicious dinner and a photo booth. Students flooded onto the dance floor and danced the night away to some of their favorite songs.

 

Girls at prom. 

 

The seniors got a “Thursday Sleep-in” on the official Senior Skip Day the next morning. That evening, they enjoyed a final sit-down dinner with the entire School community before returning to Clark Memorial Chapel for the Moving-Up, or rather moving-out, Ceremony. After an inspiring speech from their form dean, Pat Boyd, the seniors streamed out of the Chapel and let out a cheer to celebrate the end of their academic careers at Pomfret. In waves, the underclassmen took their new seats in the Chapel, ceremonially moving up to the next grade at Pomfret. 

On Friday, the senior class traveled to the Deerfield River for the annual Senior Trip to Crab Apple Whitewater Rafting. They splashed and paddled around in the water between the Class I, II, and III rapids — some getting soaked when they went overboard. After returning to the Hilltop, they dried off and headed to Campbell House, the Head of School’s residence, for the Senior Form Dinner. 

As the Class of 2024 prepares to embark on their next adventures, they carry the Spirit of Pomfret. With hearts full of memories and eyes set on the horizon, they move forward, ready to navigate the uncharted waters ahead, confident that they are forever connected by the river that began at Pomfret.
 

 

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