This year’s graduation celebrated the Concord Hill Class of 2026 and our school theme, Small, but Mighty. Throughout the year, students saw the image of an acorn and an oak tree on our school t-shirt, a reminder that even the smallest beginnings hold tremendous potential.

Concord Hill’s journey ends at third grade, by design. The end of third grade marks the developmental end of early childhood and the beginning of a new chapter. Our graduates leave with strong academic skills, deep friendships, confidence in themselves as learners, and a commitment to being thoughtful members of a community. They are ready for their next schools, and we are excited to watch them thrive, contribute, and continue growing in the years ahead.

To the Class of 2026, we wish you all the best as you begin this next adventure. Remember: once a CHS kid, always a CHS kid. We can’t wait to see all that you do.

As we celebrated our graduates and all they have accomplished, I reflected on the roots they have developed during their time at Concord Hill and the many ways those roots will continue to support them in the years ahead.

All year long, we have carried the theme Small, but Mighty. We’ve seen it on our shirts, alongside the image of an acorn and an oak tree. An acorn is a small thing. You can hold it in the palm of your hand. But inside that small acorn is the possibility of something remarkable, a tree that will stand tall for years, weather storms, and grow strong roots deep in the earth.

As I thought about this class and this day, I kept coming back to a poem called “The Oak Tree” by Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr. 

A mighty wind blew night and day,
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away,
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark,
Until the oak was tired and stark.

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around.
The weary wind gave up and spoke,
“How can you still be standing, Oak?”

The oak tree said, “I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two,
Carry every leaf away,
Shake my limbs, and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,
Growing stronger since my birth.
You’ll never touch them, for you see,
They are the deepest part of me.”

Until today, I wasn’t sure
Of just how much I could endure,
But now I’ve found, with thanks to you,
I’m stronger than I ever knew.

What I love about this poem is that the oak tree discovers something important. When the wind blows, when challenges come, when everything feels uncertain, the tree realizes that its greatest strength isn’t what people can see. Its strength comes from its roots. The roots are what keep it standing. And that makes me think about Concord Hill.

When you first arrived here, whether it was in Preprimary, Kindergarten, Second Grade, or somewhere in between, you were like acorns. Full of possibility, ready to grow. Over the years, you’ve spent your days learning, exploring, creating, playing, wondering, questioning, laughing, and discovering.

You learned how to solve problems.

You learned how to listen to different ideas.

You learned how to work together.

You learned how to care for one another.

You learned that mistakes aren’t something to fear, they’re part of learning. In fact, that’s exactly what you sang about in your class song, Try Everything:

“I won’t give up, no, I won’t give in.”

“I wanna try even though I could fail”

“Try everything.”

Because growth doesn’t happen when everything is easy. Growth happens when we try something new, take a risk, make a mistake, learn from it, and try again. That spirit has been part of your Concord Hill journey from the very beginning. And while you’ve learned many things over the years, the most important gifts of Concord Hill may be the ones you cannot see.

Just like roots.

The friendships you’ve built here are roots.

The confidence you’ve built here is a root.

The care you’ve practiced here is a root.

The curiosity you’ve nurtured here is a root.

The courage to try, to ask questions, to speak up, and to keep going, those are roots too.

Concord Hill has been the soil where those roots have grown. Those roots are part of you now, and they will go with you wherever you go next.

There will be times in the years ahead when you face something difficult- a new challenge, a setback, a problem that doesn’t have an easy answer. And, like the oak tree in the poem, you may discover that your greatest strengths are not always the ones people can see.

The oak tree remained standing because of what lay beneath the surface. The foundation you have built here at Concord Hill may not always be visible, but it is real. It lives in the way you think, the way you learn, the way you care for others, and the way you meet new challenges. 

We are so proud of you. Congratulations.