It was a morning of celebration as Wisdom Lane Middle School students, dressed in ceremonial robes, attended the annual moving up ceremony.
After the eighth-graders proceeded to their seats to the seventh- and eighth-grade band’s playing of “Pomp and Circumstance,” class representative Daniel Cisotto led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, while Jacqueline Testamark sang the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
In his opening remarks, Principal John Avena noted that the graduates “showed up and moved up with style.” He told the class that their positive choices and leadership style served as a model for the younger students.
Division Avenue High School’s new principal John Coscia welcomed the eighth-graders.
“Think, ‘what do I want to accomplish at Division Avenue?’ and then commit to it,” he said.
High school student council co-president Sophia DeFranco dispensed advice to try new opportunities, balance academic responsibilities with extracurricular activities, and remain ambitious.
After Jacqueline Devaney and Ravneek Kauer reflected on memories made during middle school and those to come, Emily Fuchs and Deanna Tomaselli presented the class gift, a donation to Wisdom Lane Middle School’s food pantry.
The students then marched across the stage to receive a Division Avenue High School lanyard, handed out by student council co-presidents Sophia DeFranco and James Lunetta. They then joined the eighth-grade chorus and cellists Leah Draluck, Emily Fuchs and Natalay Rodriguez in the performance of the popular song “Home,” marking the commencement of their middle school years.
