Shady Side Academy Country Day School hosted the 2026 closing exercises for 30 fifth graders on June 3 on campus.
The fifth graders were presented with their certificates and celebrated by walking through a faculty lineup with cheers, well wishes and high-fives all around.
The event marks the end of the fifth graders’ academic time at the Country Day School and serves as a memorable transition as students begin a new adventure at Shady Side Academy Rockwell Middle School in the fall.
Speakers included Shady Side Academy President Bart Griffith; a Shady Side Academy “lifer,” senior Coco Maxwell, who has attended SSA since preschool, kindergarten or first grade; Michelle Merson, head of SSA Rockwell Middle School; and Beth Grover, the head of Country Day School.