At the close of each new school year's first All-School Assembly (which is, not coincidentally, the new first grade's first-ever All-School Assembly), Wakefield honors a lovely tradition: the seniors, also new in their leadership positions at the top rung of the student body, lead the first graders out to the Senior Garden for a little camaraderie over cookies and lemonade. The eye-candy event, though, is more than a photo op, and more too than simple relationship-building--this being Wakefield, there's some important symbolism, too.
The new seniors undertake as one of their first acts of leadership the ushering of the first graders into their own futures in the Wakefield academic community; and by welcoming them into that hallowed space, the Senior Garden, the seniors show the first graders clearly that, after a dozen years of growth and learning, they will be the inheritors of this special realm--as well as possessors of all they will receive from their school in the years between.
It's quite the do! And the cookies and lemonade can't be beaten. Click below for some images of the treasured event.