VdM Class of 2020: Jordan
At the end of a typical school year, we honor and celebrate our sixth-year graduates and their families on campus with a graduation ceremony and after party—lovely speeches, delicious food, laughter, tears and lots and lots of Fitz's root beer. This year the pandemic forced us to change our plans and get creative. Graduating families came in their cars to watch a parade put on by our community and a screening of their prerecorded speeches, all the while maintaining a safe distance (and yes, there was root beer!).
While we did put on a pretty magnificent social-distanced ceremony (if we do say so ourselves), we think the graduates deserve to be celebrated just a little bit more. This summer we'll highlight each of our sixth-year graduates on the blog. You'll meet some of the best people we know, children we love and have watched grow and develop into thoughtful, funny, curious, exciting and vibrant young people. And you'll get to watch their graduation speeches! Today, we'll meet Jordan.
Jordan is one of the most funniest people we know. He can tell the funniest stories to help cheer you up. But he can also tell the scariest stories to make you jump out of your seat. He comes up with the best games. He is super adventurous. He is our best friend.Upper Elementary fifth-year students
Villa di Maria: Introduce yourself! Tell us something you think everyone should know about you.
Jordan: Hi my name is Jordan, and my birthday is in March.
VdM: What are your hobbies and interests? What do you like to do for fun?
Jordan: I like to draw, watch YouTube, and play video games.
VdM: Do you have a favorite book or movie (or both)? What is it and why?
Jordan: I don't really have a favorite book because they're all really good.
VdM: Tell us something about yourself that you are proud of.
Jordan: I am really proud that I am learning how to animate, and my personality. I am proud that I have worked on myself and have grown and will continue to do so.
VdM: How old were you when you started at Villa di Maria?
Jordan: I was five years old when I started Villa. My favorite memory from the early days was when I had brought a watch to my school and everyone thought it was really cool. So a small group of people started following me around and staring at my watch and I thought that was really funny. Especially when Mrs. McAuley had to separate us.
VdM: Let's talk about this school year... how do you feel about closing out your last year at Villa di Maria with distance learning?
Jordan: I feel like it's really depressing having an online school, because we aren't really able to see our friends again and Zoom isn't enough.
VdM: What do you miss most about being on campus?
Jordan: What I really miss the most about campus is the old lower elementary classroom that would be the office now. I really liked that building for the memories that were there with Mrs. LeBeau and Ms. Nidhi.
VdM: What's next for you? Where will you be going to middle school?
Jordan: I will be going to Chesterfield Montessori after Villa.
VdM: What is something you're most excited about going into your new school? Is there anything you're not excited about?
Jordan: I am most excited about seeing the people that are from Chesterfield again, because from my visit at Chesterfield the people were really nice. However I am worried that I might have to do online learning which I feel is not the best way to be introduced to a new school.
VdM: Last but not least, you graduated from Villa di Maria!! How are you going to celebrate this summer?
Jordan: I usually don't really plan out my summers as I do with the school days but I do have a little theme for each month like the first one would be friends because this is my last year, second would be gaming because I like video games, and last would be water parks/ pools. However, because of COVID-19 I am not sure how I will be celebrating summer other than occasionally going outside and manly staying in.
Jordan is calm, a great role model and the class would not be the same without him. Upper Elementary fifth-year student
Thank you, Jordan! We will miss you at Villa, but know you and your family will come back to visit often. We can't wait to see all the great things your future holds!
And now... Jordan's graduation speech:
[video width="1260" height="1080" mp4="https://vdm.provelpizza.party/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/jordan-video.mp4"][/video]Photos courtesy of Jordan's family and Melinda Smith.