The last couple of weeks of school are some of my favorites. They are filled with a combination of year-end showcases and presentations, as well as some good old-fashioned fun. However, this time is also bittersweet as we prepare to say “until later” to another class of Dragons getting ready to continue their educational journeys in new communities.
The Class of 2022 are exemplars of the portrait of a WES graduate–kind, confident, and prepared. They are exceptional in so many ways.
They were just days away from the opening night of the Grade 6 Musical presentation of Frozen, Jr. when we announced the transition to virtual learning. Their audience was hastily limited to immediate family and livestreamed to the rest of our community. They handled that disappointment with grace and composure, typical of the optimism, energy, and school spirit that defines this class.
They spent a good portion of their Grade 7 year online, but returned to campus filled with gratitude, eager to participate and appreciate what they had missed.
They are performers, chess players, coders, and musicians, as well as soccer, lacrosse, and hockey stars. They are also leaders, who have created one of the most robust and student-centered SGA programs that our faculty has witnessed. They threw one heck of a decades-themed dance party, as they relished in some of the simple joys of life.
It’s time to celebrate them as richly as they deserve as they head to new school communities in the fall. The Class of 2022 will be attending some of the finest independent and public schools in the area:
Walt Whitman High School (6)
Georgetown Day School (4)
St. Andrews Episcopal School (2)
Georgetown Preparatory School (2)
The Academy of the Holy Cross (1)
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (1)
Bullis School (1)
Connelly School of the Holy Child (1)
Duke Ellington School for the Arts (1)
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School (1)
Gonzaga College High School (1)
John Fraser Secondary School (Canada) (1)
The Madeira School (1)
The Potomac School (1)
St. Anselm’s Abbey School (1)
St. John’s College High School (1)
St. Albans School (1)
They have given our community so much and we are eager to hear about their new adventures. But one reminder: Once a Dragon, always a Dragon. They will always have a “home” to come back to.
Danny Vogelman
Head of School