The Class of 2020 at Cambridge Friends School received a surprise message from Rep. Ayanna Pressley amongst other celebratory items included in a personalized gift to commemorate what would have been their Commencement on June 10. Eighth-grade students challenged the School to celebrate them creatively, and faculty and staff were quick to come up with several ideas to ensure the missed occasion was still special.
Creating yard signs with student photos and “Class of 2020” on them, the School displayed these during a school-wide pick up/drop off day in early June. Faculty and staff also collaborated to put together Commencement packages that were hand-delivered to each student at their homes throughout the Boston area – all the way to Sandwich, MA! The special deliveries took place on the originally scheduled Commencement date providing for some much-needed social interaction outside of Zoom or Google Meet.
Packages included a script of the play Baltimore that students virtually performed in May (click here to read more) signed by award-winning Boston playwright, Kirsten Greenidge, CFS Alumna ’88 and Parent ’21 and ’23, and a custom CFS USB loaded with files including a digital yearbook, class slideshow, and this inspirational message from Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Students also received a specially dedicated book, a print-out of a carefully selected quote from a faculty member (a longstanding tradition during Commencement), and some CFS swag.
Although Commencement for the Class of 2020 has been postponed until late August, this small gesture will hopefully be one of the positive memories of this unprecedented and challenging period.
