On Monday, Aug. 29, the KO community gathered in Roberts Theater to celebrate the official start of a new school year. This was the first time since 2019 that convocation could be held in Roberts Theater due to pandemic restrictions.
The assembly was opened by a speech from senior Head Prefect Faith Potter. Faith welcomed the freshman class by offering advice about the things she wished she knew when she was a freshman, stressing the importance of mental health and taking care of yourself. “Live a life of love,” she said. “Your time is valuable. You are worthy of all good things, good people, and good times.”
After Faith, senior SGA Speaker Frank Pu took to the podium to welcome everyone back. With humor, Frank compared his first moments of high school, being an international student adjusting to a new culture to working out in the gym for the first time. He shared that he was quickly embraced by the community who helped him to realize his potential and accomplish his goals, including creating the first dance club and running for student government.
Frank offered a piece of advice for every class including his own. “For us seniors, I hope we can embrace the present,” he said. “As the home stretch approaches, I wish we can cherish the time we spend with each other. We might head into different places in the future with distinguished careers, but what links us is the memory that we have interwoven together.”
Following the remarks from Faith and Frank, Head of the Middle School Ann Sciglampaglia and Head of the Upper School Dan Gleason announced the Dux Prize recipients. The Dux prize is awarded to the student(s) in each form who held the highest GPA from the previous school year. This year’s recipients were seventh-graders Madeline Patten and Noah Sadowsky, eighth-grader Caroline Gauvin, freshmen Ishaan Bafna and Samit Virmat, sophomore Claire Palmer, juniors Esther Arimoro and Ashley Buckingham, and senior Eli Brandt.
Next, the class flags, which are displayed at Commencement, were presented to the Upper Prep class represented by sixth-graders Gabe Shaffman and Lina Shaffer, and to Form 6, represented by seniors Shoshana Levy and Annabelle Jacobs, to recognize their community service contributions.
Dr. Gleason and Form 6 Dean Ron Garcia presented the senior class shields to senior President Jacob Joseph and senior Vice President, Mac Louis. The senior class will carve their initials into the shields during Senior Week in May.
The assembly concluded with a speech from Head of School Tom Dillow. Mr. Dillow honed in on one of KO’s core values, care beyond self, by honoring the life of Paul Farmer, a doctor and public health activist who spent his life fighting the systemic oppression of the healthcare system. Dr. Farmer founded the organization, Partners in Health, with one goal in mind: to provide the same quality care to patients in underdeveloped areas as he would to patients at Harvard’s hospitals. His impact stretches far and wide in the lives he has saved and in rebuilding the field of global health.
Mr. Dillow encouraged students to use Dr. Farmer as an example of how they can care beyond self. “Let us all make a commitment this year to both understand the roots of injustice and poverty in our communities and in the world and ask the question ‘Why do they exist?’” he said.
Mr. Dillow ended convocation with a positive note for students: “Good luck and I can’t wait to see the great things you will do this year,” he said.
