News & Events

Norfolk Academy's Year of Integrity came to a close on June 6, with Lower School Closing Exercises and a reminder that students should continue to lead lives of integrity over the summer and into the future.

Travis Larrabee chose integrity for the theme of his first year as Head of School. During Closing Exercises, he called on students to remember the messages they learned over the course of the year. Integrity is the alignment of values, words, and actions, he said.

“Living a life of integrity means being true to yourself and being true to others," Larrabee said. "When you live with integrity you let your life speak. And when you let your life speak you tell people who you are by your actions, by your decisions, by the company you keep."

Integrity can also mean wholeness and cohesion, Larrabee said. To keep the Norfolk Academy community whole and cohesive, students can honor differences and highlight similarities. They can avoid assumptions, be more curious, and see the good in others and the world around them.

“This is not always easy, but then again there are few things worth doing that are truly easy," Larrabee said.

In addition to sixth graders receiving their diplomas and advancing into Middle School, dozens of awards were announced at Closing Exercises. Teachers also were thanked for all their hard work during the year, and families were thanked for their commitment and support of the learning process.

Middle and Upper School students also closed the year on June 6. Both held recaps of their pinnacle year-ending programs, Mini-mester and Maymester. Both are experiential learning courses that can take students off campus and into new environments.

Before sending them into summer break, the Head of School gave students advice for how to spend the coming few months, beyond continuing to live with integrity. 

Explore, he told them. That could mean painting, sketching, drawing, or finding new activities. Have conversations with people you don't know, he said. Write letters and journal entries. Get outside and play.

“I hope you have a wonderful summer," he said.

Lower School Awards

The Distinguished Mathematician Award is given to one student in each class who is recognized as the distinguished mathematician for demonstrating a creative approach to problem-solving, tenacity, teamwork, and attention to detail. 

• 1A: James Fatehi 
• 1B: Bradley Moore 
• 1GA: Campbell Reeves 
• 1GB: Cynthia Qin 
• 2A: Brooklyn Martone 
• 2B: Beckett Watts 
• 2GA: Nitya Mopala 
• 2GB: Lacy Moore 
• 3A: Elliott Pelstring 
• 3B: Carson Phillips 
• 3GA: Anika Gupta 
• 3GB: Stella Kotarides 
• 4A: Jack Titulaer 
• 4B: John Berry Yuill 
• 4GA: Delaney McCann 
• 4GB: Adel Kostiuchenko 
• 5A: Michael Monninger 
• 5B: Ishaan Patel 
• 5C: Sharvil Shah 
• 5D: Caroline Young 
• 6A: Ellington Person 
• 6B: Paul Moro 
• 6C: Michael Dawe 
• 6D: Chloe Evick 
• 6E: Megan Marshall 

The Distinguished Reader Award is given to one student in each class who is recognized as the distinguished reader for an exemplary commitment to exploring and appreciating quality literature.  

• 1A: Johnny Gudknecht 
• 1B: Alan Paul 
• 1GA: Mercer Hall 
• 1GB: Stella Allman 
• 2A: Nolan McKittrick 
• 2B: Parker Knisely 
• 2GA: Beren Kurt 
• 2GB: Ashby Einwick 
• 3A: Tyler Emerson 
• 3B: Sammy Jeydel 
• 3GA: Cate Watson 
• 3GB: Lexi Kokoska 
• 4A: Pranav Vachhani 
• 4B: Donovan Kawwass 
• 4GA: Mary Wright Anderson 
• 4GB: Ryan Rogers 
• 5A: Charleigh Reich 
• 5B: Mia Kastrounis 
• 5C: Grace Hays 
• 5D: Katherine King 
• 6A: Landen McCann 
• 6B: Caroline Labows 
• 6C: Cole Hobert 
• 6D: Kayla Patel 
• 6E: Riya Shah 

The Exemplary Citizenship  Award is given to one student in each class for displaying the qualities of compassion, cooperation, respect, and responsibility.  

• 1A: Rhys Gladstone 
• 1B: Mills Robinett 
• 1GA: Adelaide Harr 
• 1GB: Maddie Shaw 
• 2A: Maddox LaVigne 
• 2B: Alexander Martone 
• 2GA: Melanie Ferguson 
• 2GB: Hazel Herzberg 
• 3A: Yusuf Hornung 
• 3B: Peyton Jefferson 
• 3GA: Dixie Crumpler 
• 3GB: Lucy Dickinson 
• 4A: Levi Stein 
• 4B: Jad Youssef 
• 4GA: Mary Grace Williston 
• 4GB: Corie Gray 
• 5A: Kaden Josey 
• 5B: Kara Craig 
• 5C: Seva Desai 
• 5D: Nadine Haltli 
• 6A: Sylvie Gajdek 
• 6B: Sophia Thomas 
• 6C: Shane Weisberg 
• 6D: Emma Avila 
• 6E: Giana Jones 

James William Perkins Stewardship of the Earth Award is awarded to the Lower School student who exemplifies an awareness of environmental issues and was most influential in motivating others to work at conserving natural resources and collecting recycling materials for Norfolk Academy's Lower School. Vivian Sanecki '31

Michel Pessar Athletic Award is awarded to the fifth grade student who demonstrates outstanding achievement and excellent sportsmanship while participating in Physical Education. Michael Monninger '31

President of Student Council Award: Ishan Patel '30

Athletic Award is given to a sixth-grade boy and a sixth-grade girl who demonstrate outstanding achievement in Physical Education. Teddy Delyannis '30, Verity Huddleston '30

Bessie Craig Ramsey Lower School Music Award is given to the sixth-grade student who has made an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the school. Elliott Williams '30   

Helen Thomas Massey Art Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who demonstrates outstanding achievement in art. Saanvi Patel '30

Virginia Morris Pollak Art Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who demonstrates outstanding achievement in art. Jax LaVigne '30 

Robert Baylor Tunstall Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who shows excellence in English or original writing. Ishan Patel '30

Girls English Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who shows excellence in English. Louisa Kotarides '30

Robert S. Sergeant Creative Writing Award is given to a sixth-grade boy and a sixth-grade girl who demonstrate excellence in creative writing. Caroline Wetherington '30, Tucker Ragon '30

The Simcoe and Celia Glasser Poetry Award is given to the Lower School student who possesses a gift in writing poetry as exhibited by creativity, perception, freshness of expression and control and clarity of the language. Hadley Robinson '30

Robert L. Thomas Memorial Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who shows excellence in social studies. Luc Van Geertruyden '30   

William Selden Memorial Award is given to the sixth-grade student who shows excellence in the study of history. Catherine Adler '30

Lucy Singleton Penzold Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who shows excellence in science. Trey Yearick '30

Betty F. Moore Science Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who shows excellence in science. Lizzie Mack '30

William H. Smith Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who shows excellence in math. Ethan Krasovetz '30

Charles J. Cumiskey Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who shows excellence in math. Addison Mack '30 

Latin Award is given to the sixth-grade girl and boy who demonstrate excellence in the study of Latin. Grayson Vonderau '30, Aniston Lapitan '30

Rachel C. Hopkins Creative and Lateral Thinking Award is given to the sixth-grade girl and boy who demonstrate the principles of Creative and Lateral Thinking in academic and nonacademic endeavors by applying Lateral Thinking to search for alternative solutions, to resolve issues, and to generate creative thought and action. Saanvi Patel '30, Aransh Desai '30   

Lower School Scholastic Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who has made the highest scholastic average. Louisa Kotarides '30   

Lower School Scholastic Award is given to the sixth-grade boy who has made the highest scholastic average. Aransh Desai '30

Jeanne Atkinson Award is given to the sixth-grade student who strives to promote peace and harmony in our world. Harper Davenport '30

William C. Chewning, Jr. Award given to the sixth-grade boy who makes the best use of his natural talents and abilities, exemplifying the qualities of determination, tenacity, and perseverance. Jack Poteran '30 

Lucille G. Sebren Award is given to the sixth-grade girl who makes the best use of her natural talents and abilities, exemplifying the qualities of determination, tenacity, and perseverance. Madi Emerson '30

Bess Moore Citizenship Award is given to the outstanding girl in the Lower School sixth grade, based on character, leadership, and citizenship. Ila Bailey '30 

Vickery Alfriend Award is given to the outstanding boy in the Lower School sixth grade, based on scholarship, character, leadership, and citizenship. Jack Ward '30