2025 Eighth Grade Continuation

The Class of 2029 processed two-by-two onto the stage of the Leach Center for the Performing Arts to take their seats in front of an audience of family, friends, faculty, staff, and guests for Colorado Academy’s 2025 Eighth Grade Continuation on June 3. 

Head of School Dr. Mike Davis welcomed the Middle Schoolers, soon to be Ninth Graders, noting, “Among you are scholars, artists, athletes, musicians, and quiet-but-deep thinkers.”

Dr. Davis spoke to three themes as he addressed the Eighth Graders and their families and fans: being seen, building community, and embracing change.

“Being seen starts with seeing others,” he said. “This means listening with your whole attention; standing beside a classmate who feels alone; remembering people’s names and more importantly, their stories. In high school, you’re going to face some moments where it might be tempting to hide, to blend in, but I hope you will challenge yourself to stay open, to speak up, to stand out, and let others truly know who you are.”

Davis went on, “Caring for others is where real community begins. Be the person who makes room for others. Be the friend who asks real questions and listens to the answers. Be brave enough to be kind.”

“High school is a big change, and change can be uncomfortable, awkward, scary. But it I also a doorway to discovering who you are. Don’t worry—you do not need to figure it out all at once. Take smart risks. Ask questions you don’t know the answers to. Let your curiosity outweigh your fear. Laugh when things don’t go perfectly, and learn to say, ‘I don’t know… yet.’”

Davis introduced Middle School Principal Nick Malick, who directly addressed the 79-member Class of 2029. “In my two years with these students, they’ve proven themselves curious, thoughtful, loving, supportive, and very much middle schoolers, with all the trappings that come with their age. Middle school is a time of becoming. It’s a period of growth where we discover the kernels of our future selves, and we begin to develop a mature understanding of our world.”

Malick shared two lessons with the Eighth Graders. First, “Everything you’ve achieved, you’ve achieved with the help of others.” He indicated the Middle School faculty and staff in the front rows of the theater, as well as the many family members and friends in attendance. “They’ve supported you, loved you, they’ve helped you grow. They have given you chances to overcome your mistakes—you've had plenty—and they’ve sat with you on your worst days.”

“As you move on in life,” Malick said, “know this will always be true: You exist in a community, and your success is a reflection of the community that supported you.”

“Lesson number two,” he continued, “is to cultivate courage. Courage is one of the most important skills you’ll need in the coming years. And yes, courage is a skill you can and should develop.”

Courage is not synonymous with bravery, Malick pointed out. “Courage requires knowledge, moral judgment, and a willingness to act for what is right. A courageous act is an act taken not despite fear, but an act taken with the knowledge of risk, the knowledge of potential outcomes—embracing, understanding, and accepting the possibility of the worst outcome, and acting anyway. Acting courageously is hard, and fulfilling our mission to create courageous leaders is no easy task. In the next four years, you will learn much about the world, about physics, geopolitics, ethics, and psychology, and it’s our hope that you will use this knowledge to act toward what is right.”

“We need you to have courage to do good in the world,” said Malick, who then introduced elected Class Speaker Saiya Langefels to address the audience. 

“How to encapsulate this journey?” she asked her classmates. “I know there are a few of us who feel relief, some of us who are more sentimental as they move on from CA, and some of us who can’t help feel very, very intimidated by change. But however we are feeling right now, just take a second to remember those little moments that felt so authentic amidst all the Middle School layers of social expectations and hard work. Those memories bundle up into this care package that stays tucked away in your heart for the rest of your life.”

“If you were able to have a special connection with over 80 people, if you were able to juggle Middle School social life—a feat in and of itself—with sports and grades and everything in between, you can absolutely do anything. Just don't do anything stupid,” Langefels joked.

She continued, “Anyway, Middle school, as cliché as it sounds, was absolutely the beginning of a journey of self-discovery that is nowhere near complete. I will forever carry with me these things I learned from the past three years. First, the people around you help you to discover who you are, but they cannot create your identity for you. Second, be loyal to your friends. Challenge and ask questions, value a tight-knit community, and laugh a lot, because it’s those small things that end up meaning the world. Finally, be grateful for every person in your life who has provided you with opportunity after opportunity to be successful. Your parents, your teachers, your families, yourselves, and each other. This chapter in our lives was chaotic and messy in its own deeply beautiful way. Let’s celebrate that we've made it this far, then step towards future challenges together.”

Vocal Music Director Dr. Kevin Padworski then led a group of Eighth Graders as they sang the song “One Voice,” by The Wailin’ Jennys.

This is the sound of all of us
Singing with love and the will to trust
Leave the rest behind, it will turn to dust
This is the sound of all of us
This is the sound of all of us
This is the sound of one voice

Middle School faculty members then came to the podium in turn to offer brief tributes to their students. As each Eighth Grader stood center stage, listening to their teachers, they undoubtedly felt that Middle School embarrassment at being singled out for attention. But they also beamed to hear how much love and admiration these supporters felt for all their kindness, loyalty, determination, joy, humor, and curiosity. It wasn’t one-of-a-kind achievements that stood out in the teachers’ remarks: It was the pride they felt in knowing these Eighth Graders are good people, ready to take on everything that high school might bring.

Grade 8 Continuation Candids

Grade 8 Stage Photos