To the Class of 2025:

Your class began high school after a middle school era defined by a pandemic. You sought friendship, connection, and joy throughout your high school years in ways that paved the path for those who follow. From the inaugural 9th grade Snow Ball to the first Senior Day Up Day Parade & superlatives, Staff vs. Seniors Basketball Game and a new prom venue, you are trail blazers starting new traditions while honoring old. 

Your generation faces many challenges. You entered LS classrooms within a society riddled with ongoing tension and partisan rhetoric. While the world that surrounds you may feel like it is moving backwards, you, dear seniors, are certainly not. You entered this building as young people eager to celebrate life together and ready for conversation. You left this building in bitter, freezing rain, ready to gather in joy and solidarity for your final moments as seniors. Take that spirit and willingness to engage and bring it to new classrooms and spaces where people gather – for learning should be collective. 

Your identity will always shape who you are and what you bring to the conversation just as much as your peers invite you to see new perspectives. Together, you’ve seen paradigms – discussed them, challenged them, weighted them, and debated them. As you leave high school and enter this new phase of your life, never stop questioning the world around you. It may lead to more questions (I hope it does!) that bear fruitful research. When you feel like you’ve found the answer, ask more questions. Pull up more chairs to the conversation. Make room for other voices, especially those often not invited. 

Your task, class of 2025, is to embark on a journey outside of LS that brings the character you’ve built to your next endeavor. Whatever that may be, know that learning never stops and in community, real change can occur. 

Forever in your corner,

Ms. Ariel Cox and Ms. Jenny Staysniak 

Class of 2025 Advisors