Selected as roommates at Shiz University by headmistress Madame Morrible, the two share an almost instant dislike for each other. But, in time, the witches overcome their differences and learn to respect and admire each other, becoming fast friends. Like most friends, they have their moments of harmony and discord, and, like most true friends, their relationship endures through good times and bad. They leave each other at the end of the story acknowledging they are who they are because they knew each other, and that each has changed the other for the better.
This coming Friday, BCD will be celebrating the accomplishments of thirty 8th graders – the Class of 2014 – who have made their marks on this community. Some, like Jack, Ethan, Emma, Carter, Curtis, and Ethan (again), have been students at our school for 11 years, beginning in preschool. Others, like Elizabeth, Justin, Charlotte, and Madi, have only been here one or two years. But, together, these young men and women have been trailblazers for our school. They were finishing elementary school when we built the “new” middle school, they were in 6th grade when we started our STEM program, and they were the leaders this year during the first year of our 1:1 program. They have formed strong bonds that they will carry with them the rest of their lives – with each other, with their peers in other grades, and with their teachers.
At BCD we teach our students to discover your excellence, and the Class of 2014 certainly has. In its midst are budding sea turtle and rhinoceros conservationists, a computer engineer, a potter, a motorcycle mechanic, a golf course designer, a beat-boxer, a jeweler, a cyclist, a cardiologist, a ski instructor, a navy seal, an unmanned aerial drone pilot, and many, many other talented scholars, artists, and athletes. We also ask our oldest students to live and model the core values of our school motto: Respect Yourself. Respect Others. Take Responsibility for Your Actions. The students in this class, my first class, have embraced this challenge, and they will leave a legacy of kindness, generosity, and scholarship that will endure long after they are gone.
In the song “For Good,” which our Bravura choir will sing at commencement on Friday morning, composer Steven Schwartz writes, and Glinda sings:
“I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them. And we help them in return.”
To the Class of 2014, you have shared your lives with us and taught us well. We are indebted to your service and leadership, and we wish you all the best in next and future years. I know the entire Boulder Country Day community joins me when I echo the words that Elphaba and Glinda sing at the end of Wicked:
“Because [we] knew you, [we] have been changed…for good.”