Annual Graduation Coverage Week 2:

Laguna Blanca  Lower School

The Laguna Blanca Lower School 2025 Graduation, “Go Owls!” was held on Friday, June 6 at 9am, outside at the Lower Campus Pavilion. The graduates processed in to “Little Prelude in E minor” by Bach and took their places on bleachers in the front facing their families and friends seated in the lawn sports field area. 

In attendance from the school were Head of the Lower School and Laguna Blanca alumni Brooke Green, Head of Laguna Blanca School Ron Cino, Fourth Grade instructors Susanne Richter and Ademola Oyewole-Davis, and the ever together cornerstone of the school, Darla McDavid, Assistant to the Head of Lower School for over 25 years.

Green welcomed the guests and provided her commencement remarks for the graduates, “I am incredibly proud of this graduating class of fourth graders. Together, they form a vibrant community of unique individuals, each bringing their own special gifts to the Lower School. As student council members, they led three impactful service initiatives this year: a Warm Blanket Drive supporting our local unhoused community, a clothing and goods drive for victims of the L.A. fires, and a Food Drive benefiting the Santa Barbara Food Bank. Beyond their outreach efforts, they stepped up as leaders within our school, championing social-emotional learning by organizing cross-grade games during recess and sharing thoughtful messages of kindness and fairness at our assemblies. A particularly memorable moment this year was the Citizenship Breakfast, where each fourth grader hosted and honored a special guest. What stood out during this event was their poise and confidence in public speaking, as well as their comfort in engaging meaningfully with the adults they honored. Their speeches reflected not only gratitude, but also a deep sense of connection to the broader community beyond our school walls. This remarkable group of students has demonstrated a true passion for helping others, grounded in empathy and responsibility. I look forward to seeing how their compassion and leadership will continue to grow as they transition to Middle School and beyond. Congratulations to our graduating fourth grade class!”

The program included the grads singing their class songs, “Count on Me” and “High Hopes.” Then Richter read the traditional “candy” vignettes about each student, where she relates each student’s qualities to a particular candy bar – think Junior Mints. While reading the script she wrote for one of the students, “To the AlphGens, I’ve been waiting all year to say this, you slay!”

Richter, Green, and Cino awarded each student their diploma as the Presentation of Certificates, along with the school’s owl necklace and a gerbera daisy. Each student presented their gerbera daisy to their parents and processed back to the stage area.

After Green declared the students graduated, it was time for photo ops. The program closed with the grads performing the traditional parachute dance to the song, “Better When I’m Dancing” with Coach Ray Robitaille. 

The Laguna Blanca Fourth Grade 2025 graduates are: 

Isabella Bao, Nate Bradley, Lenya Broomberg, Logan Connelly, Maelle Coordes, Ella Cottle, Nicholas Gilles, Gabriel Hassman, Mila Katz, Lev Kupperman, Madison Leitner, Gracelynn Lopes, Olive Mathern, Dixie Matkins, Jack McDonald, Elise Millington, Hayes Parrish, and Mirabel Sandler.

YMCA Preschool

The YMCA Preschool 2025 Graduation was held on Friday, May 30, at 11 am, outside at the Y’s multi-sports court. Each graduate handmade their cap and wore their Sunday best. The preschoolers entered the courtyard from their classroom to “Pomp and Circumstance March” by Sir Edward Elgar, with their teacher Cathe Spock. Once in the courtyard, they climbed up onto a bleacher stand and stood facing their parents who were seated under a tent.

Meeting the preschoolers at the bleachers were Youth Development and Preschool Director Esther Reitmeier and teacher Samantha Hulsizer. Additional teachers for this year were Kristin Logsdon and the teacher’s aide Bailey Darrah.

Reitmeier welcomed the parents, “Watching this class grow, learn and achieve so much these last two years has been amazing. I can’t wait to see what each of them do to continue to amaze everyone around them. I wish them all the best and I know they will all go on to do great things!” 

The program started with the preschoolers singing and acting out a song about growing up in each decade and being a superstar. Next, Hulsizer set up a video which showed each preschool graduate being interviewed by the teacher about their thoughts on the preschool and what they want to be when they grow up. At the end of the video, Reitmeier announced, “That concludes our program. You are now free to join your children for the reception outdoors.” 

The 2025 YMCA Preschool grads are:

Ambrose Ivanitsky, Bianca Leprieur, Charlotte Bracken, Georgina Bracken, James Diaz, Koen McCay, Legend Phillips, Lucia De Lowe, Luke Hund, Shevlin Acos, and Valencia Kimball.