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A Warm Welcome Back

A Warm Welcome Back

To kick off the 2022-23 school year, the Dana Hall community gathered in Bardwell Auditorium for Opening Convocation — the first time the School has been able to do so since Fall 2019. Head of School Katherine Bradley began by welcoming all new community members, including the 5th grade class who will be Dana Hall’s first graduates in the 2030s.

This year’s student theme, “Strive to Revive,” was announced by All-School Co-Presidents S. Sahni ’23 and R. Sharma ’23, who said that its essence means to go through this school year with resilience and passion, focusing on people, not place. Middle School Co-Presidents L. Collins ’27 and K. Visco ’27 welcomed new Middle School members and shared their excitement for the upcoming year. School of Music student J. Li ’26 performed “Fantasie-Impromptu, Op. 66” by Frédéric Chopin on the piano.

Student speaker S. Zhang ’23 shared how she spent Saturdays at home in China visiting her grandfather, who’d lost the ability to walk, in a senior living facility. As she was unable to make it home this summer, she spent the time volunteering at a local Hebrew SeniorLife senior living community. Wanting to create a similar impact on seniors like her grandfather, Zhang guided residents through simple exercise sessions to increase their balance and improve physical fitness.

“I always felt inspired to see the seniors challenge themselves,” Zhang said, who told stories of residents who made great strides during their sessions. “Working with them was the highlight of my summer, and I felt delighted to bring them so much happiness.” She plans to continue volunteering throughout the school year, and invited other Dana Hall students to join her.

In keeping with a long-standing tradition, the assembly concluded with a song, and this year Director of Choral Music David Coleman brought out a Convocation Song from the vault: “I Sing Dana Hall!,” an original composition for the 2015 Opening Convocation, which he taught to the assembled crowd. Before everyone dispersed for the first day of classes, the community sang the Alma Mater arm-in-arm.