Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/97177
UP FRONT Middle School Graduation Faculty, family and friends celebrated the good humor, hard work and community spirit of the Class of 2016 during the eighth grade graduation on June 6. This year���s eighth grade included Science Olympics state champions, a National Spelling Bee semifinalist, Free the Children club members who helped to improve the lives of children around the world, Math Counts and math contest winners, slam poets, songwriters and musicians, national winners in French and Latin contests, professional actors, undefeated athletic teams and talented artists. Most of all, the class included good friends who worked well together and celebrated each other���s accomplishments, said Middle School Director Deb Sampey in her welcoming remarks. Student speakers Preston Firestone and Noah Weeks-Brittan shared memories and stories of the Class of 2016 from the first days of junior kindergarten through to the sometimes awkward middle school years. Student president Luke Chandra praised his classmates for their dedication throughout 4 L AT I N M AGAZINE the year, especially at Middle School Festival Night, where the class raised $2,000 for the Latin Scholarship Fund and the Be Like Brit organization, a school record. Although much of the ceremony was devoted to looking back, it was also filled with advice and thoughts about the future. Head of School Randall Dunn welcomed the 80 graduates by calling on them to take a moment to reflect about the years to come and their legacy at Latin. ���My question is: What will you give? What will you give to the Latin community [or another high school community]? What will you give to the students who come after you?��� Meanwhile, Sampey called on the eighth graders to challenge themselves to step out of their social comfort zones in high school, to focus less on popularity and fitting in and more on answering the question ���Who am I?��� n