From Alpha to Senior Year

This month marks the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year for all of our students, and today I want to focus on our youngest and our oldest Chargers. The 3-year old Alphas (Class of 2037!) are our last class of Shorecrest’s first 100 years and this year’s twelfth graders are our Centennial Class of 2023, leading Shorecrest into the next century.

Alpha consists of 3 classes totaling 48 students, with teachers and children who come from the nearby Tampa Bay Area, along with families from around the globe. The Experiential School includes children and teachers from four different continents who bring diverse backgrounds and experiences. Already the students have settled into a daily rhythm: morning carline, circle time, exploring new classroom environments, discovering exciting materials, playing outdoors, eating with their classmates, napping, and returning home eager to tell their families about their friends, their teachers and their very full day. 

The Senior Class, our largest ever with 92 Chargers, has started the year as wonderful leaders and role models, observing special Shorecrest Senior rituals and celebrating new traditions as well. 

The parking lot party took place behind the Athletic Center, as Seniors decorated their individual parking space bumpers. With plenty of paint, stencils, some free-hand drawing and lots of individuality, this cherished tradition - also accompanied by plenty of freeze pops and water to combat the afternoon heat - kicks off the school year.  

More formally dressed, the first day of class consists of the Upper School’s Convocation ceremony, with remarks by the student president of the School’s Honor Council. Each senior’s name is called and they walk across the Janet Root Theatre stage, (the same stage where they will graduate in May). Each person signs the Honor Book and is then officially welcomed to the start of their senior year by the Head of Upper School.

A new tradition started this year was the Upper School Student Leadership Institute. This morning-long seminar included student leaders from the Student Council, Honor Council, and Student Ambassadors who gather to discuss their role as leaders at Shorecrest. They enthusiastically agreed to be “all in” - with hearts and minds – and to positively impact the School this year.

 

What will Shorecrest be like when this year’s Alphas begin their Senior year in August of 2036? What will the world be like? How will these Chargers of the future navigate their senior years and the college application process? How will learning be the same and yet also different? There are so many unknowns. We do know that the spirit and essence of our mission will remain the same. 

Our coming centennial year offers us the opportunity to reflect on the past and ponder the future. Whether in 1923, 2023, or some time in the distant future - students have been, are, and will always be the heart of Shorecrest. 

All the best, 

Nancy