Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

Students standing with diplomas at commencement.

On June 7, The Peck School’s Class of 2024 accepted their diplomas from Head of School Andy Delinsky and President of the Board of Trustees Souren Ouzounian.

Thirty-nine eighth-grade students from towns across several northern New Jersey counties participated in the commencement as they formally graduated from Morristown’s historic K-8 independent school.

Delinsky welcomed parents, family, and friends on campus for this momentous occasion, and spoke of the various accomplishments of this year’s graduating class.

“As you prepare for your high school experience, remember that you’re equipped with the skills to thrive: the important lessons, character values, disciplined approach to learning, and life skills you have acquired at Peck,” Delinsky said to Peck’s newest graduates.

Alumni Speaker, Colin Pryma ’20, Delbarton Class of 2024, returned to his alma mater to deliver the alumni address. “You’ve learned to work hard, collaborate with others, ask questions—these are the three most important things that helped me find success in high school,” said Pryma.

This graduating class has made its mark on the Peck community. To commemorate their time at Peck, Student Council President Sailee Shah ‘24 presented the Class of 2024 class gift, a weeping cherry tree that will grow in Nikki’s Garden and serve as a calming spot for students to gather around.

Graduates Lucian Thomases, Emma Del Vento, Aanya Bhat, and John Aiello presented this year’s Eighth-Grade Address. Each reflected on their memories at Peck and what our community and our school have meant to them.

Academic honors and special awards for the Class of 2024 were also announced. They are:

The John L. Hopkins Memorial Award is named in honor of a former Peck parent and acknowledges outstanding performance in English composition. The award was presented to Grayson Materne and Victoria Silva. This fall, Materne will attend Kent Place School and Silva will attend Newark Academy.

The History Prize recognizes an eighth-grade student whose scholarly achievement in history is matched by a genuine enthusiasm for understanding the human experience. This year’s History Prize was presented to Heidi Lüer and Grayson Materne. Lüer will attend The Peddie School this fall.

The Caspersen Family Mathematics Award recognizes effort, intuition, and creative talents in exploring mathematical concepts and in understanding analytical procedures. This award was presented to Collin Garvey and Sailee Shah. Garvey will be attending Morristown Beard School and Shah will be attending Kent Place School this fall.

The Malcolm E. McAlpin Memorial Science Award recognizes a high level of curiosity, scientific reasoning, and a commitment to excellence in science. This year, the award was presented to Declan Garvey and Sailee Shah. This fall, Garvey will be attending Morristown Beard School.

The World Language Prizes are awarded in memory of Yvonne Tyson, a former faculty member. The Foreign Language Prizes honor student effort, interest, enthusiasm, and academic performance in the study of languages. This year’s recipients are Heidi Lüer and Anaiah Souffrant for Latin, Jane Pagano and Sailee Shah for Spanish, and Collin Garvey and Kassidy Wilson for French. Souffrant and Pagano will attend Kent Place School, and Wilson will attend Blair Academy.

The Peck School Technology Award honors students who demonstrate talent, innovation, and creativity with technology and who promote and support the respectful use of technology. Christopher Birrittella and Declan Garvey. In the fall, Birrittella will attend The Pingry School.

The Eighth Grade Art Prize, given in honor of Marion Turrell Francis, recognizes outstanding artistic talent and a genuine love of art. This year’s award was presented to Heidi Lüer.

The Alys H. Olney Music Award is given for a dedicated interest in music classes and programs, and a genuine love of performance. This year, the award went to Alexandra Friedman and Delylah Reyes. In the fall, Friedman will attend The Hotchkiss School and Reyes will attend Montclair Kimberley Academy.

The Norman R. Lemcke, Jr. Memorial Drama Award honors the talent, commitment, and a sense of creativity that results in outstanding accomplishments in dramatic arts. Delylah Reyes and Angelina Sciaretta are the recipients of this year’s award. Sciaretta will be attending Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in the fall.

The Lyndsley E. Wilkerson Award is given to students who have enthusiastically built a foundation for future success, who has demonstrated genuine curiosity about the world, and who have led by example. This year’s award went to three students: Collin Garvey, Angelina Sciaretta, and Lucian Thomases. In the fall, Thomases will be attending West Morris Mendham High School.

New this year, The Nina Sharma Award for Leadership in Service Award was presented to Christopher Birrittella and Grayson Materne. Sharma, who served as Head of the Lower School for nearly 20 years, returned to Peck to present the award which is given in recognition of leadership in serving others through their commitment to service on campus and in the community.

The Rudolph H. Deetjen Jr. InDeCoRe Award, named for a former Head of School, is presented to the graduating student who best demonstrates “Consideration of Others” and the school’s core values. The award winners, as voted by eighth-grade students in May, 8, were Hadley Baker and Stone Steenberg. In the fall, Baker will be attending The Pingry School and Steenburg will be attending Delbarton School.

The F.C. Reynolds Memorial Sportsmanship Award is presented to students who present an outstanding sense of leadership, fair play, and good sportsmanship. This year’s recipients were Hadley Baker and Christopher Birrittella.

The Peck Loyalty Prize is given in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Lorraine T. Peck, leaders of The Peck School for 27 years. The prize is presented to students in the graduating class who, in the estimation of the faculty, best exemplifies “consideration of others” and consistently demonstrates the qualities of leadership, loyalty to the school, and other attributes that make for successful academic, athletic, and personal relationships. This year, the Peck Loyalty Prize was awarded to three students: Isabella Ceballos, Sailee Shah, and Stone Steenberg. Ceballos will be attending Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child this fall.

Ten students were recognized for high scholarship, which acknowledges those graduates who have earned an overall grade point average of 93 or better for the year. These students were Constanza Ambrogio, Hadley Baker, Austin Chen, Alexandra Friedman, Collin Garvey, Declan Garvey, Heidi Lüer, Grayson Materne, Jane Pagano, Sailee Shah, Stone Steenberg and Kassidy Wilson.

The Harriet Stratemeyer Adams Award for Highest Scholarship acknowledges the graduating student who has maintained the highest scholarship average for the gear, including final exams. This year’s award recipients are Collin Garvey, Grayson Materne, Sailee Shah.

After all the recipients of student awards had been received, Delinsky announced the faculty member who would be receiving The Walker D. Kirby Faculty Award. The Walker D. Kirby Faculty Award honors a member of the faculty whose dedication to the school, its students, and its mission is an exemplary inspiration to the graduating class and the entire Peck community. Each student in our graduating class votes to determine the recipient of this award. This year’s award went to Director of Secondary School Counseling Christine Williams.

“You see, eighth grade, life isn’t fulfilling because of the name of your high school, how many likes you get, or how fast you run the mile,” Williams said. “We create fulfilling lives with our relationships, contributions, and perspective.”