The Swarthmore College’s Scott Amphitheater was full of family, friends, and teachers waiting on plastic folding chairs for the senior class to emerge from behind the stage to the tune of “Country Club Stomp,” performed by seniors Kathleen Kelly and Vincent Zhu.

On that stage, every elementary school in the district, the middle school, and the high school would be represented by the seniors who attended them. Speeches featured anecdotes about the time that seniors spent at each place, sandwiched between musical performances and an opening and closing speech, following the theme of ‘Next Chapter.’

Seniors Daksha Nair, Anna Warley, and Jamie Taub opened the ceremony, and class of 2026 student body president Minori Saito closed it.

“Speaking just felt great,” Saito said. “I think a lot of people are nervous, but I was just excited. Commemoration is such an awesome time, where our class gets to be all together, and it’s so nice to look out from the stage and see everyone’s faces, and just like really soak it in… it’s just the last time we’re really going to all be together, which is special.”

Senior Lily Newport sang “For Good” from “Wicked” alongside Ellie Cole. They were accompanied by junior Louis Lanza.

“I got to be up here with a lot of my friends, I sang with Ellie, and a lot of my friends were up here for speeches and stuff,” Newport said. “It was really nice to have them included, because normally, if I’m doing a musical or something, I’m the only one out of my friend group who does that sort of thing. It was just really nice singing a song with my best friend, and having all my other best friends up here with me.”

Sitting in the senior audience, Sophia Aranda enjoyed watching the speeches and performances.

“Everyone did such a good job, just hearing all the speeches from everyone going back to our elementary school days,” Aranda said. “It was just so nostalgic, even hearing the other schools, and everything that went down, especially [at] SRS. It was really fun, and I’m just glad I got to experience a lot of things from other people’s perspectives.”

Students assisting with the event arrived early to help out. Cole was one such student, making sure the event was set up to run smoothly.

“There was some issue with the guitar, and then we figured it out, and everything went so, so smoothly,” Cole said. “I’m honestly very, very surprised. I’m so happy that everything went so smoothly. I thought it was beautiful.”

The ceremony is organized by math department chair Ms. Lysa Rieger, who took on the role after music teacher Mr. John Shankweiler retired in 2024. While Rieger helps with the logistical aspects of the ceremony, students plan what actually happens.

“[The students] do all the rehearsing and figuring out the music and what fits and coming up with a theme and making the program and all of that,” Rieger said.

Student Council helped with setup, cleanup, and hosting the event.

“We all know that we have to come here and help out with giving out pamphlets and programs, and make sure that everyone knows where to go,” junior and incoming student council vice president Weiler Graham said. “We just tried to make sure that everyone was really kind and welcoming to everyone coming in here tonight.”

Students started meeting in April. Sonya Blum, Lexi Benzing, and Claire Donovan wrote and did the high school speech. Though they started weeks before, they continuously worked on the speech until the ceremony.

“We got together to practice, and even up to the last minute, we were kind of editing and re-evaluating what we wanted to say in front of our classmates,” Blum said. “I think it was really beautiful. It was even better than I expected.”

According to Rieger, the Commemoration event developed out of the merger between Nether Providence High School and Swarthmore High School back in 1984. Swarthmore High School held their graduation ceremony at the Swarthmore College Amphitheatre, so the offsite location connects to the history of the school community. 

Senior Katie Trout enjoyed the high school speech, and appreciated being with the class of 2026 one final time before graduation.

“We do have one night left until graduation, and I mean tomorrow’s the last day we’re all going to be sitting with each other,” Trout said. “It was just really special to see everyone, and just have one of those moments where it’s just for us.”