The Williams School Celebrates Class of 2030 at Eighth Grade Moving Up Ceremony

The Williams School celebrated the Class of 2030 during its annual Eighth Grade Moving Up Ceremony on Friday, May 29, recognizing students as they completed Middle School and prepared to begin their Upper School experience.

The ceremony featured remarks, student reflections, musical performances, and the presentation of personalized Eighth Grade Citations. Head of School Mark Fader welcomed students and families and shared remarks with the class, while Director of Middle School Teaching & Learning Joseph Cote addressed the eighth graders and formally presented the Class of 2030.

Class Representatives Emilia Leeming ’30, Nanak Patidar ’30, and Finn Pesarik ’30 reflected on their time together, sharing experiences from their years at Williams.

Music was also a central part of the celebration. Julian Thorn ’30 performed Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Zoelle Boor ’30 performed End of Beginning, Sarah Folstein ’30 performed Landslide, and Stella Raney ’30 performed A Year to Remember. The Class of 2030 also came together for performances of Riversong and Billy Joel’s Vienna.

A distinctive Williams tradition, the Eighth Grade Citations recognize each student individually and celebrate the qualities, accomplishments, memories, and contributions that have shaped their Middle School experience. The tradition mirrors the individual citations presented to graduating seniors during Senior Night.

Each eighth grader also received this year’s class book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book.

The ceremony concluded with the Williams Alma Mater and recessional, bringing the students’ Middle School years to a close. The Class of 2030 will return to Williams in the fall as ninth graders and the newest members of the Upper School.

The Williams School Class of 2030:

Bea Bailey
Piper Boland
Zoelle Boor
Elliott Boyle
Sabina Canning
Liam Cerrigione
Nicholas Cosentino
Shawn Decastro
Annie Ellis
Eli Fetzer
Greta Field
Sarah Folstein
Jake Gjonaj
Jonny Gould
Lukas Haynes
Cam Jackson
Emilia Leeming
Alex Lindner
Jack McClenahan
Lauren Naysnerski
Jack Ouellette
Nanak Patidar
Finn Pesarik
Gabriel Ramos-Esteban
Luca Raney
Stella Raney
Tony Raynor
Aeryn Smith
Julian Thorn
Simon Tomlinson
Vicky van Berkel
Valentín Vásquez
Hutch Walsh
Elijah Waring