Speyer School

Here they are… Speyer’s newest alumni! Tuesday evening we watched the 32 graduates of Speyer’s Class of 2026 accept their diplomas. Their final “culminating event” so to speak– surrounded by family and friends and Speyer staffulty– celebrating their time at Speyer.

One of the graduation speakers, Adil K, said this: “One of the many things that Speyer can be seen as is a doorway. It’s the gateway that we each walked through to get to where we are today. And the best part is that it isn’t simply something that we all did separately. We walked through it together, picking up and supporting each other along the way. We watched each other slip and stumble, and I won’t say that there were never times where we judged each other for it, but there were definitely many more times in which we lent an arm to each other…

Every single person in this room right now has supported our success, and on behalf of the Class of 2026, we promise that we will make you all proud, and change the world, because that’s what we’re capable of. The ability to make the world a better place is exactly what Speyer has entrusted and built within us.”

As they stand in front of the doorway they walked through countless times, we are excited to see them walk through new doorways as they continue on to their next journey. And as the years go on, they will walk through doorway after doorway…always carrying what Speyer built within them.

All of us are sending our loving congratulations to each and every graduate of the Class of 2026! We are so proud of you… once a Dragon, always a Dragon!

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” - C.S. Lewis. We know the things our Class of 2026 will do after they leave Speyer will amaze us! We can’t wait to celebrate the newest class of Speyer alumni!

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” — Desmond Tutu. In just one day, we will wish Speyer’s Class of 2026 well as they move beyond 925 Ninth Avenue…to do their bits of good and impact the world.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt. It is an understatement to say we believe in the Class of 2026 and their dreams… we can’t wait to see the future they will create. They are passionate, resilient, and ready!

“Live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.” — Maya Angelou. We cannot wait to see the tomorrow that Speyer’s Class of 2026 will create — they are passionate, resilient, and ready for their next adventure! As we count down the days til they take the stage next week, we will share a little bit about each of Speyer’s soon-to-be graduates here!

Hey guys! It’s Landon again :)

Picture 1: Today, we had our Very Public Speeches in Central Park! :D

Picture 2: We listened to speeches on the World Cup and cheating in Chess!

Picture 3: Other fun picture from the park where we heard speeches about gender equality and debate!

Picture 4: Plus, we found a piano and had a little sing-along!

Picture 5: Ok...that’s all for now! The experience was so fun and I love spending these final moments with these people. See y’all Monday! :D

Spotted off the Boulevard: Our Youngest Dragons experiencing their very own Odyssey!

To celebrate the end of their unit about Greek Mythology, our Kindergarten students travelled to Central Park to participate in their own Odyssey! After learning about Odysseus’s trials, they experienced their own journey. In their adventures, they traveled through Poseidon's ocean, found Cyclops' eye, avoided eating Lotus flowers, and sent arrows through the axes. They ended their journey with a great feast!

Spotted off the Boulevard and on the Stage: Lower School Students in our Third Annual Spring Performance: Rhythm Rocks!

Our Lower School students' year-long exploration of Dance culminated in the third annual Lower School Spring Performances! A celebration of rhythm, it was a fantastic day, complete with an iconic soundtrack that had our Lower School dancers ready to rock — and everyone in the audience was movin' and groovin' in their seats!

Titled "Rhythm Rocks", our dancers celebrated the beats and rhythms found in our bodies, throughout our city, and everywhere. Our youngest dancers in Kindergarten celebrated rhythm in our city with their own original song they composed with LS Music teacher Mr. Tim. Meanwhile, some of our dancers were inspired by the "4 on the Floor" and what was all the rage in NYC in the 70s — disco! First Grade had everyone clapping along during their performance to the Bee Gees anthem "Stayin’ Alive", and some of our Third Grade dancers boogied to "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps!

Both Second and Third Grade responded to the "Call of the Clave," performing the salsa to "Salsaton" by El Rubio Loco! Our third graders also sung "Yes We Can Can", a new arrangement of Allen Touissant's hit by Mr. Alonzo! And our oldest dancers in Fourth Grade brought down the house with their moves to a Sungha Jung arrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and groovy remix mash-up of classical favorites!

Thank you to Ms. Gabrielli, Ms. Gordon, Ms. Pruden, Mr. Tim, all of our LS homeroom and CATS teachers, and everyone (and there are MANY) who made this magical event possible! We send big thanks to all of our families for your wonderful support of our Lower School dancers and this performance! Thank you also to Speyer Alumni parent and amazing photographer Ethan David Kent for capturing the magic of the day!

And of course, we all give the largest and longest standing ovation to Ms. Kelly!

Happy Pride Month! Strength, truth, equality, love, community - we are celebrating all this and more at 925 Ninth Avenue. Let’s empower, lift and love everyone in our community!