“Fill your dreams with sweet tomorrows. Never mind what might have been.”
The closing song of the graduation of 12 Block Island School seniors, set magnificently against a deep blue ocean, could not have been more perfectly worded given the 18 months of Covid they have grown through. One filled with stress, uncertainty, and devoid of many of the group events that normally paint senior-year bookends in high school.Principal Kristine Monje began by addressing the crowd with a giant relieved smile, and an often breaking voice, as she referenced the weather:“There is no final curve-ball to this year!”
The large crowd of family and supporters spread over the Spring House lawn, hosted by owner Frank DiBiase. It was perfect, and earned. “We’ve all lived through quite the journey,” Monje surmised.
Noted one set of grandparents sitting on the front porch wicker of the grand hotel: “Of all the past graduating classes, these kids deserved this weather, this setting, this day.”
Savannah Brown and Lucy Rigby-Leather traded turns at the microphone in a back and forth Valedictorian and Salutatorian address that was as unique and special as is this very island.
Rich in personal tales and genuine, heartfelt passion,
