Middle school is never an easy journey for anybody, especially the current class of 2026. For them, their entire John Glenn Middle School path was wrecked by the destruction ball that is Covid. However, this year allowed all of their hard work to be appreciated. On Wednesday, June 15 at Sabourin Field, the current 8th-grade class officially “Moved On” to BHS.
When asked what this year’s ceremony meant to him, JGMS principal Jonathan Hartunian told The Citizen, “This year’s Moving On Ceremony means a lot to me as it represents the first class of my principalship. Educators hold a special place in their hearts for their first class and this remains true for this principal. For the school, it represents a new beginning as we leave behind the last 2-plus years of a pandemic. Although it took time, we found a way to provide some normalcy for our students, highlighted by the Washington, DC trip and these end-of-the-year activities. I’m extremely proud of these students and our staff.”
The ceremony was built around honoring all the students for their hard work. After a remarkable performance of the national anthem, performed by JGMS students Emory Carroll, Julian Muelhoefer, Sharanya Vaidianathan, and Chloe Wood, Principal Hartunian spoke about how grateful he was to have a class that could handle having “[M]issed the end of the 6th, didn’t have a typical 7th-grade experience, and were thrown into 8th grade with the excitement of a new school year just to be met with more restrictions.”
Following a stunning performance of Count on Me performed by the JGMS chorus, the Academic Awards were given out. There were many awards given out to students who went above and beyond in specific subjects. After the presentation of the coveted Principal’s Award, it was time for the main event.
Every single student of the 8th-grade class was acknowledged for their completion of middle school and honored for their hard work. Each student had their name called as they walked across the stage to receive a certificate and a handshake from Principal Hartunian.
For these students this wasn’t just another lame award show, this was a long-needed acknowledgment of the unprecedented challenges they have endured these last three years. While the pandemic has hit all of us, these students were impacted in a different way. The seemingly impossible task of navigating middle school became even more daunting. They had to navigate new teachers, subjects, and expectations all while keeping themselves healthy, both mentally and physically. These students have done what many of us couldn’t and for that, they deserve all the recognition in the world.
Annual Awards, 2022
Mathematics: Mary Bujalski, Malek Gharios, Tova Yerardi, Leah Whitted
Civics: Abigail Cutrona, Madeline Plurad, Grace Nam, Tanya Singh
Science: Keida Stroni, Millind Sharma, Miles Trant, Sharanya Vaidianathan
English: Elyse Tassinari, Even Franklin, Carinna Dogan West, Michael Cheng
Citizenship Award: Ava Toews, Christopher Randazzo, Vivek Kaw, Sophia Aloise
World Language: Evan Gu, Taylor Bailey, Tyler Waldron, Rishabh Sudakar
Art: Amelia Coffey, Nat Sandler
Technology Education: Avery Wasserman
Physical Education: Madeline Plurad, Anderson Marino
Chorus: Emory Carroll
Band: Lucy Drench
Explorations in Music: Sayontika Bhattacharya
Orchestra: Sharanya Vaidianathan
Principals Award: Derek Gallant
Correction: Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader, the caption on this article’s main image is JGMS annual awards recipients, not the chorus as previously posted.
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