Staff, faculty and administration of Bozrah’s John F. Fields Memorial School gathered on Monday, June 13, to say goodbye to the Class of 2022, which coincidentally numbered 22 students.

Some will continue their education at Norwich Free Academy or Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, while others will attend Norwich Technical High School or one of the Connecticut Interdistrict Magnet Schools. In addition to parents and siblings and grandparents, members of the Bozrah Board of Education attended.

The students processed into the auditorium to the tune of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance,” provided by music teacher Amanda Gooch and students Tyler Savoie and Reagan Reid.

In a speech congratulating the class, Jonathan Gilman, president of the Bozrah Board of Education, said that Fields Memorial is the oldest continuously operating grammar school in Connecticut. Recently retired teachers Evelyn Brown and Michel Leask, both of whom have remained involved with the school since their retirement, were guest speakers.

Principal Ian Polun urged the students to enter high school “like one of my favorite cartoon characters, SpongeBob SquarePants.” He explained that he meant that they should maintain their innocence and curiosity about the world while approaching every new task with confidence.

What was interesting about the ceremony, which had been planned by parents and the students themselves, was that the faculty had not chosen a single valedictorian. Instead, all the students had studied speech writing with faculty and Principal Polun, and all had been required to submit a sample short valedictory address. Then, those who liked what they wrote and wanted to share it were invited to speak.

Student speakers were: Andrew Joseph Pagnotta, Diana Morgan Kozerefski, Sarah Grace Martin, Christopher R. Myrick, Rhiannon Viola Dixon, Lexie Beatrice Theriault, Tyler Scott Fields, Mia Marie Morales and Savannah Dubicki.

After awards were presented, the class gift was announced. Students had decided to donate new basketball hoops and backboards to the school, a gesture that drew a round of applause.

After the alma mater was sung, the audience was treated to a video/slide show featuring this year’s special learning and recreational activities and photos of members of the class from the time they entered preschool to the present.

Finally, before the recessional, Dr. Portia Bonner, interim superintendent, made farewell remarks to the class on behalf of the Bozrah community.

In addition to the valedictorian speakers listed above, the class of 2022 included: Ethan Joseph Apicelli, Rebecca Nicole Bradshaw, Landon Patrick Brady, Elizabeth Leigh Bush, Alejandro Willie Guillermo Camacho, Hannah Beth Caplet, Sofia Louise Hill, Landon Emerson Little, Kassidi Marie Murzyn, Wolfgang Maxwell Semmelrock, Jacob Tyler Sikorski, Isabella Lynn Way and Kylin Gregg Williams.

Mary Elizabeth Lang lives in Bozrah.