The Season of Celebrations The Winsor School

Head of School Sarah Pelmas

“Winsor loves a good celebration, and April kicks off our season of celebrations in earnest. We have already celebrated Ring Day, Prom, Party with a Purpose, the yearbook dedication, the Class VI banner presentation to the seniors, the Class V party for the seniors’ last day of classes, and of course, on Thursday night, the incredible launch of the Winsor Leads Campaign. We have enjoyed the Spring Concert, Hemenway speeches, RENT, and the Class IV Health Fair. Soon we’ll honor former students at Alumnae Weekend, delight in the Class IV productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, cheer on both Panthers and Jaguars at Field Day, and celebrate Lower School Closing, Awards Celebration, and Commencement. These last few months of the school year are rich in tradition and joy.

Commencement, of course, is the grandest of these, a moment not only to celebrate the seniors, which certainly happens, but also to honor the school year in its entirety and the community that has lived and learned together since September. As the last official gathering of all of our students, faculty, and staff, for many of us, Commencement is also the best moment of the year, the one that speaks most to our love of singing, talking about what matters to us, and being together in celebration and sisterhood. We celebrate seniors at the height of their achievements and poise, with laughter and tears in a huge tent filled with love.

Several years ago, one parent of an alum observed that we as a school might not understand the extraordinary challenge that graduation presents to senior parents and families. “We are so involved in the community,” she said. “Some of us have been involved as parents for 8, or 12, or more years. We have helped with admissions and cheered on the sidelines, we have planned faculty treats and driven to this campus a million times. And then, just at the height of our connection to the school, graduation ends and we suddenly feel cut off from this community that has meant so much to us.”

As a parent of an alum myself, I now know exactly what she meant. And I am grateful to her for naming it, because it helps us see clearly how important it is to help parents transition in a way that honors their deep connection to the school and their love for their children and for this community.

For me, the senior dinner the night before graduation is always a poignant reminder of this connection. I love seeing the seniors with their families, talking and laughing, often with their closest friends around them. I am reminded that for so many families, Winsor is a second home, a place that has nurtured and challenged their daughters, and a place that has held them in community. Graduation marks the end of this chapter, but it is also a time to reflect on all that Winsor has meant to these students and their families.

So when I think of the season of celebrations at Winsor, I think not only of the events themselves, but also of the deeper meaning behind them. Each celebration is a reminder of the connections we have built, the traditions we have upheld, and the community we have formed. These celebrations are about more than just the events themselves; they are about the people who make Winsor the special place it is. And as we celebrate, we also say goodbye, knowing that these goodbyes are not the end, but rather a part of the ongoing story of Winsor and its community.”