Click here to listen to this as a podcast episode on JAM: Just a Moment With Mark Silver
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of overseeing my sixteenth 8th grade promotion. What a joy to celebrate 44 fabulous young people as they launch from our Los Gatos campus into high school. Nearly 45 percent of them are crossing the valley to our San Jose campus, the largest cohort of current Hillbrook students to enter our Upper School yet.
The cadence and structure of the ceremony are the same as when I first arrived back in 2009-2010 – the songs, the speeches by the Mayor of Los Gatos and the graduating senior who won the Hillbrook Award four years earlier, the student reflections on their ten-year journey through our Los Gatos campus, the presentation of a Class Gift, and the reading of the names and ritual of shaking hands with me and then the Chair of the Board of Trustees as they officially complete their JK-8 experience and move on to high school.
The tradition of this event is held deeply by students and employees. Children start participating in 1st grade and then slowly move up through the rows – singing a different verse of the Memory Song each year – until they find themselves on stage, looking back at all of the younger students awaiting their turn. It’s a beautiful rite of passage and represents the best version of tradition, as year after year students see and celebrate how we live out our vision, mission and core values on the Los Gatos campus.
The songs, in particular, become deeply ingrained in all of us who have seen this ceremony. Indeed, this year’s returning senior, Hannah Gally, mentioned to me after the ceremony that she was drawn to sing along, as she rediscovered the joy of this ceremony just four years removed from her own 8th grade celebration. There is no doubt that she – and all of the other Hillbrook alums – still remember the words.
Afterwards, many families shared how much they loved the ceremony and I found myself narrating for them how this tradition has gone unchanged since my arrival. While I don’t know the exact history, I know that at least one of the songs – “The Memory Song” – was introduced by Robin Clements, Head of School from 1976-1997. Other songs and the overall structure, I believe, were introduced during my immediate predecessor, Sarah Bayne’s, tenure from 1998-2009. Note that there have only been three of us as long-term Heads of School since 1976, with a one-year interim Head of School in 1997-1998.
Promotion powerfully affirms our school’s 90 year tradition and commitment to see, know and understand each and every student, and serves as a beautiful and moving connection with generations of Hillbrook students and families. At the same time, it represents a new and equally inspiring connection to the transformative moment we are going through as we expand into a JK-12, as increasingly these young people walk off the amphitheater stage on the Los Gatos campus and transition across the valley to our Upper School. What a gift that they will have the opportunity to build on their JK-8 experience at an Upper School that is delivering a truly extraordinary and engaging educational experience for high school students. It is, as we have often noted, an educational opportunity that all students deserve.
Perhaps most importantly, it reflects what I have always believed is most inspiring about our school – we are deeply rooted in 90 years of history and tradition, which, in turn, means we are always looking for ways to change, grow and evolve to ensure we continue to meet our vision, mission, and core values.
Perhaps most importantly, it reflects what I have always believed is most inspiring about our school – we are deeply rooted in 90 years of history and tradition, which, in turn, means we are always looking for ways to change, grow and evolve to ensure we continue to meet our vision, mission, and core values.
It is that balance of history and innovation that enables us to celebrate, honor, and treasure the school’s oldest traditions while at the same time preparing to launch our 90th year with the opening of our newest space on our brand new campus in downtown San Jose in August – the renovated Moir Building, our Classroom & Administrative Building. That building itself has more than 125 years of history and tradition, including a period as the home for Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the United Farm Workers in the late 1960s. I eagerly anticipate sharing more with the community at the grand opening in August.
Since 1935, we have been committed to inspiring each student to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. As we continue to expand and thrive through the most transformative moment in our history, that commitment has never been clearer.