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Graduates
Top: Thompson E. Upham, Rectory tutor and resident of Woodstock, congratulates Katie Shim, of Gyeongju, Korea, his student in the Individualized Instruction Program, on her graduation. Above: In traditional, Korean celebration dress, Heasuk You, of Jeonju, Korea, greets graduate Sara Markes of Pomfret Center. Sara will go to Emma Willard School in New York. Nan Viens photos.
POMFRET --- The Rectory School’s 90th commencement took place June 6, with 48 graduating ninth graders representing ten states and six countries. The ceremony was marked by many firsts. It was the first time that a student was chosen to be the commencement speaker, a decision that proved an excellent one. Ninth grader, Daniel Kellaway, from Pomfret, appointed to give the message for his classmates, eloquently encouraged them to take a positive attitude toward life, no matter what the circumstances. Another first time experience was to have a graduating student perform. Violin virtuoso, Yeo-Bi Choi, from Seoul, Korea, played Handel’s Sonata in D Major, OP.1 No. 13 beautifully for an admiring audience. It was also the first time a student came to Rectory in the middle of his ninth-grade year, which happened when Emmanuel Pean, from Port-au-Prince, was admitted after his school was destroyed by the earthquake in Haiti.
Fred Williams said about the Class of 2010, the first of his tenure as Headmaster, “The Rectory School’s ninetieth graduation ceremonies showcased the amazing talent and character of forty-eight remarkable young people. Whether from Pomfret, Connecticut, Shanghai, China, or any point in between, each has pursued a commitment to learning and has demonstrated the potential to make important contributions to our world.”