The Class of 2029 crosses a significant bridge as Grade 8 students mark their ascension to secondary education
A Prep student’s elevation from the Middle School to the High School is a moment to remember. May 29 marked the 10th such celebration in School history since the 2015-2016 eighth graders—now in their early 20s—were feted inside Memorial Gymnasium.
This year, 114 current grade 8 students were recognized at the Mahoney Wellness Center for completing St. John’s Middle School program. The event featured two student musical performances, including a song of remembrance for the late Sebastian Robinson ’29, a class video introduced by Stoneham’s Samuel Dilly ’29, and a reflection by Victor Skop ’29 of Melrose.
“Our grade 8 celebration is a special time to gather and recognize the gifts and talents of our students who are leaving Middle School,” said Associate Principal for Grades 6, 7 and 8 Jason LaRocque, Ph.D. “The event combines many elements of traditional Prep senior events—individual awards, the presentation of certificates, and video highlights. I love to hear our student musicians and speakers share their talents and memories with the community one last time.”
Six students were awarded the Brother Benjamin, C.F.X. Student Leadership Award in recognition of their servant-leadership and participation in co-curricular life at the School. Recipients were Martin Lika of Marblehead, Will MacKay of Winchester, John Marino of Georgetown, Andrew Saccocia of Melrose, Brendan Sullivan of Beverly, and Anderson Trickett of North Reading.
“When I think about all of these kids in that moment of officially going off to high school, I reflect on the work that’s been done to help shape them as they become young men,” said Middle School Dean of Students and Student Life Coordinator Katy Muth. “I think about what it means in terms of character development. I’m excited to see them put key learnings about servant-leadership, humility, and humanity into practice as they become more independent and more individually responsible. They’ve arrived at a place where they can kind of open up the wings that we’ve helped to build.”
Reading’s Brady Murphy received the Grade 8 Campus Ministry Award for putting “faith into action every day.” Lynn’s Henrique Fernandez was honored with the Multicultural Affairs and Community Development Advocacy Award, which is bestowed annually upon a grade 8 student who has committed himself to St. John’s Diversity and Inclusion statement throughout his time at the Middle School. The John Carnevale ‘’81 Scholarship Award went to Woburn’s Andrew Doughty for modeling enthusiasm for the Prep community and having a positive influence on the life of the School.
“I think what stands out for me about this event is their overall excitement about the transition,” said Mike Driscoll, the Middle School’s campus minister. “I feel like the biggest thing for them is the opportunity to experience St. John’s as an entire campus. I think getting to that point is what they view as their biggest accomplishment. I think that they see all the successes of all the high school kids and they want to be a part of that.”
This year’s celebration also included remarks by Head of School Ed Hardiman, Ph.D. P’19, ’21 ’26. Cellist Eli Hajer-Sirois ’29 of Salem performed a solo of “Memories” by Maroon 5 dedicated to Robinson. Pianist Pranav Nayar ’29 of Burlington played Sonata in G Major by Muzio Clementi. Driscoll offered the invocation, Assistant Dean of Students Ryan Harding gave the benediction, and Matthew Sorgini ’29 of Boston provided closing remarks.
“I’m pretty excited about moving on to high school,” said Skop prior to the ceremony. “I’m ready. I’ll have a lot of work on my plate with classes, so it will be a bit harder, but I’m ready to manage all of that. It’s nice growing up and getting older and having more responsibilities and having more things that you can do. I will probably miss the sense of community we have here at the Middle School. I know me and my friends are probably going to get a little bit more spread out across campus now, but we’re all friends together. There are no divides in our Middle School community, which is great.”