Sage Hill hands out diplomas to 135 new graduates
Sage Hill School, located in Newport Coast, held its 19th annual commencement ceremony on Friday evening.
The ceremony took place on Ramer Field, the athletic field on campus, to allow for social distancing while providing for the graduates to have family members in attendance. Past graduations have been held in Wilkins Town Square, a courtyard that is also on campus.
Those in attendance also had to show proof of vaccination or have a negative COVID-19 test. Kelly Abbate, the director of communications and marketing for Sage Hill, said that COVID-19 testing was conducted at the school last week.
Abbate added that the school had 135 graduating seniors in its Class of 2021.
“I am so thrilled that we were able to host an in-person graduation ceremony for the Class of 2021 this year,” Head of School Patricia Merz said. “They are an extraordinary group of young people, and everyone at Sage Hill is so proud of them and their many accomplishments, and we look forward to seeing what they do next.”
The speakers at the graduation included Irene Choi, a student, Jeffrey Feland, a foreign language instructor in Latin, and Merz.
The Sage Hill choir delivered a live performance, and the school also celebrated the graduation with confetti cannons as a new addition.
“This year we were pushed out of our comfort zone — away from what we considered normal,” Merz wrote in her speech. “Which begs the question — is normal even enough for us anymore? Here at Sage Hill, we always strive to challenge each other to do more and think beyond what is just normal.
“My hope for you and your future ahead is this: Aspire for more than ‘normal.’ Live big, no matter the circumstances. Pursue a life that is different from others. Your path has already been so different, so why stop now?”
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