What Others Say About Khalsa Montessori School

Graduation 2008

 

Graduate Speaker

Janessa

Every time I tell people I went to Khalsa School, I receive the same reaction.
“What is that?” and “Can you explain that?”
Yes, of course I can explain that. It’s simple. Khalsa School is a family.

During my years at Khalsa it was difficult for me to grasp this concept fully. To me, Khalsa School was Khalsa School. A rectangular building I attended for about eight hours each day. A place where Albanese cards ran rampant, where the test tubes and pin maps were plentiful, and where I endured my first encounter with an SRA.

But Khalsa was also where my friends were, where my teachers taught, and where my mind, body and soul expanded and grew.

I was present for many of the landmarks during the initial years of the Elementary school. I remember eating lunch outside the day a crane brought the tunnel down to rest, and can recall with great affection our first meeting around the newly implanted peace pole. I attended school during the days of its remodeling, its expansion and acquisition of new properties which we had always been curious about but would now be able to explore. I painted murals on the cement walls that housed the playground, created clay art that would adorn the sides of the school and yes, I even helped to build and maintain the pond.

But while my fingerprints are imprinted in Khalsa School, its affect on me has been ever greater.

I began Khalsa in first grade, in Susan’s class. I needn’t have worried about this new environment. If I cried the first few days, by the third I was bounding into the open and adoring arms of my second family. I made some of the best friendships I have ever had with those students in Susan’s class, and our love for one another continued to flourish and grow as we entered the impressive walls of Jaswant’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade classroom.

By our years in Middle School I shared a tight-knit bond with not only the friends I had found, but the teachers who had taught me not only the basic principles of education, but to love and truly explore the depths of learning, knowledge and understanding. I had a confidence in my self and my abilities that I had never known before, and I had found a direction in life that lead down an unexplored path all its own.

Leaving Khalsa School the summer after my eighth grade year, and entering the otherwise uncharted halls of North High School was, at the time, the scariest thing I had ever experienced. I was lucky, then, that six of my closest Khalsa friends were embarking on this new four-year journey with me, but again I began fearing that I would lose myself, this unique individual created in part by Khalsa School, and the connection I had established with my peers and my instructors.

I needn’t have worried. It was through my years at North High School that I was able to discern the gifts Khalsa had given me. I approached my studies in a refreshing way, with an aptitude for learning more. I reached out to not only my peers, but my teachers and established strong friendships with ease. I fell back into the rhythm of having a supportive family by my side in school, and I thrived off it.

But I could never quite leave Khalsa, not altogether. I returned twice, as an office assistant during the summer months, where I explored a new side of the school I cherished. My fingerprints again found their way into the woodwork, while I felt myself re-energized at the opportunity to see my school expand. It was during this time that I realized that Khalsa would always be there with me. That as long as I remembered the lessons I learned, the achievements I had accomplished, and the relationships I held dear, I could develop as a human being, and become the greatest version of myself possible.

As I looked out at my fellow peers at our high school graduation ceremony last week, these lessons seemed ever so pertinent. I adored my new friends, my new life, but I found myself nursing a particular soft spot for the six of us from Khalsa, and for the school itself. It was like eighth grade graduation all over again, and as I watched each of us walk across that brightly lit stage, I realized that no matter where we were headed, or what we would accomplish, we will always have a connection to each other, and to this school, because of the opportunities it has given us, and the trust and hope it has bestowed in us.

So to each of you graduating today, whether you are simply moving up to the next cycle of Khalsa, or following the next step in your educational plan, remember this: you are moving forward, but you do not have to move on alone. You are an exceptional group of young people, and the whole world lies ahead of you. Remember the lessons you learned here, the relationships you’ve established, the love and support you’ve received, and the hope and power within yourself, and you will go far. You are not leaving Khalsa School, your class, or your peers behind. You are, instead, taking them with you, and their lessons will always be a part of you in everything you do, as long as you strive to pursue life in the fullest, and become the best person you can be: for yourself, and for this world.