Eight graders bid adieu to Charlotte Central School

On Thursday night, June 9, 44 students graduated from the eighth grade at Charlotte Central School, an occasion that was marked with just the right amounts of pomp, circumstance and humor.

Departing co-principal Stephanie Sumner complimented the graduates on leading the way as the school emerged from the past few unusually grim years and helping to bring back social gatherings like concerts, full sports seasons, the spring musical — and that night’s graduation.

Photo by Scooter MacMillan. Charlotte Central School principal Jen Roth takes a selfie with graduating Levi Russell after handing him his diploma.
Photo by Scooter MacMillan. Charlotte Central School principal Jen Roth takes a selfie with graduating Levi Russell after handing him his diploma.

“We are happy that you were able to experience these events in your final year here, and we appreciate the energy and the joy that you brought back to Charlotte Central School,” Sumner said.

“We’re going to miss you as a group and as individuals,” principal Jennifer Roth said.

Instead of having the staff sing to the graduates as has happened at past graduations, eighth grade chorus students gathered as a group to start a new tradition, singing as part of the ceremony, music and choral teacher Monica Littlefield said.

“I asked the students, ‘So, do you want people to be happy and excited about your future after graduation or do you want to make them cry?’” Littlefield said.

Naturally, the students unanimously chose to sing a song called “Fly Away Home,” guaranteed to have some in the audience crying.

One of those affected by the chorus’ performance was school counselor Betsy Lloyd, who commented between tears about how special the graduates had been in dealing with some tough pandemic years and shared a quote, “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.”

Photo by Scooter MacMillan. Graduates waiting for their turn to get their matriculation certification.
Photo by Scooter MacMillan. Graduates waiting for their turn to get their matriculation certification.

Graduating eighth grader Ceci Scriver brought the humor when she reflected that it seemed impossible that they would soon be learning to drive.

Scriver got a big laugh when she said, “I don’t think I should be in charge of a car, let alone high school.”

An even bigger laugh came towards the end of the handing out of diplomas.

When Levi Russell’s time to go up to the podium came, he paused to take a selfie.

But he couldn’t get one over on the principal. After handing Russell his diploma, Roth whipped out her cell phone and snapped a selfie of the two of them together.

Talk about a photographic memory.