Senior, Michele Tirondola, spoke at Friday’s graduation and began her remarks with a quote from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man (or woman) in his (or her) time plays many parts.” She went on to say “As I stand here reflecting on our graduating class, I see an entire cast of different, unique characters, each one having played many roles and made many entrances on this 83-acre set we call Purnell School. All of us held lead roles; we took our stage by storm, and presented what we had to our audiences. We played the roles of artists, writers, designers, actors, politicians, students, and sisters. Although each of us had our own distinct and different parts to play, each part contributed to the ensemble we’ve become. We didn’t automatically fall into the place we all are in now. Just like any kind of successful show, we had to fail miserably in rehearsals first. Each year, while its own act, felt like a rehearsal for this year, our final show. It’s remarkable to look to the past, and see how much we all have grown.”

Head of School Ayanna Hill-Gill welcomed the class of 2009 into the next chapter of their Purnell experience. No longer students, they have joined over 1200 others as Purnell Alumnae. Ms. Hill-Gill started off her remarks with the poem Alone by Maya Angelou. She went on to say that as Maya Angelou resounds throughout her poem, nobody can make it alone, and as graduates of Purnell, they are never alone. As with every other graduate of Purnell, each alumna has been given the opportunities that will make them successful “outliers” as defined by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers. An outlier is described as those who are extraordinarily successful in all they do. Ms. Hill-Gill used Gladwell’s breakdown of the hours it takes to become a master at something and found that each of our students and alumnae have had time while at Purnell to master something. That something is themselves.

“The programs at Purnell, both academic and co-curricular, allowed you to explore yourselves as learners, thinkers, students, friends, and most importantly, people. You’ve been allowed to practice being yourself at a place that encourages you to push yourself to varying levels of scholarship, but not at the expense of losing who you are at the core. You’ve discovered your strengths and passions, and surpassed your challenges in a community that has embraced you for who you are. You, ladies, have mastered yourselves, and you have the confidence to prove it. There are 41 other classes that have come before you who share in this Purnell experience. They, too, have spent over 10,000 hours mastering themselves. And because of that, you are not alone.

The Class of 2009 will have the success that so many other young women only wish they had. All because of your connection and experiences at Purnell. Today, you the Class of 2009, join over 1200 other Purnell Alumnae as outliers ready to take your place in the world. Your success has already begun and because of that you will never, never be alone.”

Purnell has always been a positive “set” in each of our graduate’s lives. It is one of many performances in which they will take part.  Here they can grow, change and become the characters that they would like to be in the world.  We wish the Class of 2009 and all of our Alumnae the best!

View more pictures of the event:

Getting Ready,Walking the Path,Toast
Reception,Ceremony,Last Name A – F,
Last Name G – L,Last Name M – R,Last Name S – Z,Setting The Stage,Hat Throw

It’s hard to believe that graduation is just a week and a half away. Although you’ve had “Senioritis” for months, all of a sudden you find yourself becoming sentimental. You now realize that this school on an old dairy farm has really been your home away from home. You may finally recognize that the teacher that has challenged you for the past four years was doing it with good intentions. You may even thank him or her. You’re probably a lot more emotional than you’ve been in a long time. You readily admit to getting teary as you listened to Gabby, Jesse, Beth and Ashley sing “Lean on Me” at the recent Performing Arts Night.

Like most milestones, the experience of graduating high school and moving on to college is a little overwhelming. You have no idea what is in store for you at the college or university you’ll attend. You wonder… Will I like my roommate? Will I pass all of my classes? Will I know where I’m going? Will I have friends? We are here to tell you that you ARE well prepared to be successful college students and you have a great future ahead of you.

College life will be different than life at Purnell. You will definitely have “more”…more students, more homework, more time with boys, more internet hours and more stress. Life in P’ville was simpler, but all of the rules and schedules were the building blocks for college, which in turn will provide the building blocks for a career. We hope you will utilize all that you learned at Purnell in your future pursuits.

You bring so much to the college or university that you’ll attend in the fall. You know how to write effectively, do scientific research, and work collaboratively with your classmates on projects. You are able to advocate for yourself in the classroom and have strong time management skills. You have the motivation to be involved in extracurricular activities and the leadership experience to be successful in whatever you decide to pursue. You are comfortable living with a diverse population and can successfully navigate different social situations. You are strong, self-confident, and articulate young women and you are ready to take this next step.

Enjoy your last few days on campus and soak it all in. Be proud of all that you’ve accomplished during your time at Purnell and know that you have a great future ahead of you. We are so proud of each of you and wish you the best of luck!

Consider a few of the software packages deployed by various departments in the 2009 Academic year.Thanks to Froguts, a complex virtual dissection toolkit, Biology students can examine eleven types of animals for microscopic inspection safely from any computer on campus. In Social Studies, students explore Middle East political situation by role-playing all sides of the dispute with an eye towards crafting a resolution. World History students build empires and manage resources in Ancient Egypt with Virtual History software. Lastly, the English Department designed an electronic portfolio system to help students share, organize and present their best work as they grow as writers.

In addition department-specific innovations,  Purnell utilizes tools to support student learning in all academic areas. Moodle, an online course management system, provides students and teachers a powerful tool for classroom interaction and student collaboration. Teachers design quizzes, class journals and forums, wikis, surveys, workshops and webquests—and more. With Moodle, students and parents access course information whenever they choose, transcending the limits of a typical school day and fostering creativity, organization, discussion and excitement about learning.

Technology also helps Purnell stay connected with the extended family of students, parents, alumni and prospective families.  Recently, the school signed on to Twitter, an online social networking tool, to answer the question: “What is going on at Purnell right now?” in 140 characters. Followers receive real-time “tweets” about the school, day or night. A Facebook page connects Purnell with the entire community and facilitates the sharing of information in popular forum.

Additionally, the newly launched Purnell Blog allows for more detailed exploration of topics affecting our school and the lives of our students. Through weekly blog postings, contributors tell stories and share information that highlight our unique ability to care for and teach tomorrow’s leaders. The blog offers a mechanism for capturing a moment at the Purnell School in narrative, and a means for sharing these experiences with the world.

On Wednesday, April 15, 2009 we kicked off the first day of our Founders’ Week celebration with a Breakfast at Brook House for the ninth grade.  On Thursday, students walked around campus in uniforms from the sixties.  Back then, students wore uniforms to athletics, classes, and dinner.  The current Board of Trustees was on campus for the spring Board Meeting, and they were able to join the community at lunch for a fashion show featuring the uniforms from the past and share in some Purnell trivia created by current students.

On Friday, current and former Board of Trustees members joined us for lunch at Brook House to celebrate their work at our school, to discuss Purnell’s successes and challenges, and to consider the future of all-girls’ education in the 21st century.  Later that evening, we welcomed back several members of the class of ’89 as they began their 20th reunion.  Simultaneously, students kicked off the annual Artist in Residence weekend with a performance in the Carney Center.

On Saturday, more than 12 artists visited our campus, leading workshops for students and members of the class of 1989.  One of these artists was our very own Mr. Starkey, who shared his wisdom and love of art with our students once again.  The classes of 2009 and 1989 had lunch together and swapped memories and stories about Purnell.

As the sun heated up the campus on Sunday, we welcomed several former faculty members to brunch at Brook House with current faculty and staff.  We were able to discuss the strength of Purnell and its long, rich pedagogical and curricular history.

Throughout this week, we continued our Class Breakfasts at Brook House and ended Founders’ Week on Wednesday, April 22 (also Earth Day) with a celebration attended by our current students, faculty and staff.  Our tree dedication ceremony that afternoon honored faculty and staff for their five consecutive years of 100% giving to the Annual Fund.  The 29 bulbs planted at the tree’s base recognized the class of 2009 for their 100% contribution to the Annual Fund and to the Purnell legacy.

After a week of reflection and connection with Purnell’s past, present and future, I am humbled by the privilege of leading a School steeped in spirit, compassion and excellence.  Let us lift our glasses and tip our hats to all of us who have built this school with tradition, purpose and hope. Cheers to all of you who have been a part of our life-changing legacy.

- Yanni