2024–25 Convocation Lays the Groundwork for a Perfect Year

To mark the beginning of the 138th school year, seniors made their grand entrance into the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater to the Mission Impossible soundtrack (more on the senior theme below). The annual all-school convocation places faculty and staff on stage as the assembled students in Class I through Class VIII hear remarks from school leaders. 

Calling the assembly of students “bright-eyed and cheery,” President of the Winsor Corporation Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22 spoke about the founding of Winsor and reminded students, “we are all stewards of this school for a time.” 

President of COLLECT Nidhi Mallavarapu ’25—dressed as Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—collected wisdom from fellow seniors answering the question, “If you could go back and give yourself advice when you were starting at Winsor, what would it be?” She distilled their responses into 12 pieces of advice ranging from aspirational—“don’t just live in the moment, thrive in the moment”—to practical—“get enough sleep.” 

She wisely added, “there is no perfectly preset path here…at the end of the day, you create your own experience… What feels right for you, is right for you. Listen to yourself unabashedly… You already know what to do.”

Inspired by the 2001 heist movie Oceans 11 and the 2018 all-female spinoff Oceans 8, Senior Class President Elizabeth Fitzpatrick ’25—dressed as Minions supervillain Vector—introduced the Class of 2025’s senior theme: Oceans 2025. Putting together the perfect crew is key to any heist, and Fitzpatrick described fellow senior classmates—“a cunning, skillful, driven group of people”—as the perfect crew to “team up for one last year and for one last mission.” 

In Oceans 11, Reuben Tishkoff, played by actor Elliott Gould, said, “‘You’re gonna need a crew as nuts as you are,’ and I think I’ve found my perfect crew,” added Fitzpatrick.

Head of School Sarah Pelmas used the summer Olympics to put the school year ahead in context, pointing to many extraordinary moments of women uplifting other women. 

In one example, Ms. Pelmas dove into the media frenzy surrounding Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus and American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who were considered rivals by commentators, but in reality count each other as inspirations. As Ledecky took gold in the 800-meter freestyle event to become the most decorated female swimmer and most decorated American female athlete in history, Titmus captured a silver in the next lane over. And yet it was Titmus who raised Ledecky’s arm aloft in celebration, and offered her a hug and congratulations. 

In the days preceding the race, Ledecky said of Titmus, “We love competing against each other. It brings the best out of each of us and pushes each of us in training.” With the race over, Titmus added her own commentary, “[Ledecky]’s made me a better athlete. I totally respect what she has done in this sport more than anyone else … She’s unreal.”

With their mutual admiration as inspiration, Ms. Pelmas challenged everyone to set a new (school) year resolution to “be like all those amazing women athletes, who work as hard as they can, who hold one another up, in good times and bad, who are proud of each other, and who comfort each other.” 

Ms. Pelmas offered suggestions for what this could look like in practice: 

“We can start with something easy: start by noticing the people around you and what they are up to. Be proud of them, build them up, give them positive feedback. Challenge yourself to offer words of honest and whole-hearted support every day. When you do this, you will find that you are working squarely in the tradition of this school—where we speak our minds and also work to build and grow a healthy, forward-thinking community.”

Convocation closed with everyone on their feet. Students Advocating School Spirit (SASS), had the gathered assembly stomping and clapping along to two classic school chants—“Red Hot” and “Hey All You Winsor Fans”—while Head of Performing Arts Felicia Brady-Lopez and Choral Director Andrew Marshall led everyone in singing “Jerusalem” by C. Hubert Parry.

The new school year officially begins with the ringing of Miss Winsor’s bell. Class IV Council Heads Ani Andersen ’29 and Isha Vachhani ’29 did the honors and told students earlier in the program, “Winsor is a perfect place to try new things.” The gentle tinkle of Miss Winsor’s bell opens and closes each school year, a tradition dating back to 1910.