Senior drive-thru Celebration, Commencement exercises & fireworks show

Shady Side Academy celebrated the 94 members of the Class of 2020 at the Senior Drive-Thru Celebration on Friday, May 29, 2020, the original date of Senior School Commencement Exercises. Graduates and their families drove around the main quad in decorated cars while teachers lined the sidewalks holding signs and cheering, with stops along the way to receive gifts and take socially distant photos with Senior School Head Sophie Lau. While SSA had hoped to hold its traditional in-person commencement ceremony on Friday, July 31, COVID-19 gathering limits on that date prohibited such an event. Instead, a unique drive-in commencement exercises and fireworks show was held on the lower athletic fields on Thursday evening, July 30, sending off the Class of 2020 with a bang - literally! Congratulations to the Class of 2020!

Class of 2020 College Decisions

Junior School Closing Exercises

The 33 members of the Junior School's fifth grade class were officially promoted to the Middle School with a virtual Closing Exercises & Moving-Up Day ceremony and a drive-thru celebration on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. After watching a special closing exercises video in the morning, fifth graders and their families gathered on the Junior School field in their cars, then drove around the traffic circle lined with cheering teachers, making a few stops to take photos and receive graduation certificates and gifts from Interim School Head Dr. Peter Mathis.

Congratulations to the Class of 2027 and their families!

COUNTRY DAY School Closing Exercises

The 17 members of Country Day School's fifth grade class were officially promoted to the Middle School with a virtual Closing Exercises ceremony and a drive-thru celebration on Monday, June 1, 2020. The day began with a Zoom virtual gathering, featuring fifth grade videos and presentations from the faculty. Then graduates and  their families drove around the Country Day School campus, waving to cheering teachers along the way. Families made a few stops to take photos and receive gifts and graduation certificates from School Head Dr. Jennifer Asmonga – and of course, to hear Mrs. Fire sing!

Congratulations to the Class of 2027 and their families!

Faculty & Staff Awards and Honors

A number of awards are presented annually during Closing Days to recognize excellence, dedication and service by SSA faculty and staff.

The Posner Award for Meritorious Faculty Performance

Thanks to the generosity of the late Henry Posner Jr. ’37 and the Posner family, the Academy has extended the Posner Award for Meritorious Faculty Performance to 30 faculty members since 2004. The purpose of the Posner Award is “to recognize, inspire and reward those faculty members at Shady Side Academy who, through their special ‘gift of teaching’ and mentoring, have affected, in a highly special way, the learning, development and lives of one or more individual students. This award, presuming as it does a high quality of teaching in all Shady Side faculty, recognizes and honors a teacher of transcendent influence, one whose impact on a particular student or group of students has been uniquely beneficial and enduring.”

Pam Boehm, Senior School History Teacher

Pam Boehm joined the Senior School history faculty in 2014. Known for her kind, calm and open-minded nature, she is willing to tackle tough topics and encourages her students to do the same. Boehm currently serves head advisor of the Morewood House girls’ dormitory and advises the Diversity Leadership Council (DLC).

“Ms. Boehm is a multi-talented person who has made a big impact on my life,” said one of her former students. “As a member of the DLC, I witnessed fi rsthand her passion for social justice and diversity. She encourages all of her students to be accepting of others, regardless of their diff erences. She truly changed my life.”

A parent wrote, “She made an indelible impact on the high school educational experience of our son at Shady Side Academy – through her mentoring and thoughtful direction, through her passion and caring, through her deeply-rooted support of our son through thick and thin. I cannot think of a more dedicated and deserving teacher than Ms. Boehm.”

Camille MacRae, Middle School English Teacher

Camille MacRae joined the Middle School English faculty in 2014. Known for her passionate approach to teaching and unique classroom décor, MacRae is credited with helping students step out of their comfort zone and explore new ideas. Whether she is reciting Shakespeare in the classroom or encouraging students to take the stage for a Middle School drama production (for which she serves as director), MacRae has proved time and time again to be an extremely valuable member of the Middle School faculty.

“I wish I had space to tell you all about the emails, notes, and talks; the advisory group discussions and Socratic seminars; the family/student conferences – the precious time that she spends with her students and their families,” said one parent.

“She is an invaluable treasure, and she has changed my son’s life for good, forever.”

Another parent wrote, “She has turned her classroom into a setting within which all her students are lovingly encouraged to express themselves in ways personal, varied and compelling. She inspired in our child perspective and principle, empathy and passion, and we will be ever grateful.”