Press release from Rumson School District

On the afternoon of June 9, a new class of Rumson students experienced a fun hometown rite of passage, when they took part in the annual “Movin’ On Up” Ceremony, presented in the cafeteria of Deane-Porter School.

Family members and school staff celebrated the achievements and promise of the third graders who are preparing to transition to fourth grade at nearby Forrestdale School.

“I know that you will accomplish wonderful things at Forrestdale,” said Deane-Porter School Principal Shari Feeney, while Jennifer Gibbons, Principal of Forrestdale School, welcomed her newest students at the ceremony.

The “Movin’ On Up” ceremony included a symbolic “Passing of the Keys to the Fourth Grade Wing.” The keys were passed by fourth graders Declan Fry, Ellie Mee, Sabina Murray, Dagny Robinson, and Caitlyn Smith-Ryland to third-graders Clara Lilley, Reese Malone, Mary Helen McCooey, Carson Memmott, and Parker Shenman.

Songs performed by the third grade students under the direction of Music Teacher Valerie Wagner were “Pass It Along” (featuring seventh grader Hayden Marciszewski on piano and his sister, third grader Sabrina Marciszewski, as soloist/violinist) and “The Deane-Porter School Song” (with piano accompaniment by Hayden Marciszewski).

A slide show featuring a third-grade retrospective was also featured, and Principal Feeney presented her school’s Perfect Attendance Award to James Fernandes, Theresa Gettings, Sabrina Marciszewski, and Sophia Yockel.

At the conclusion of the song- and memory-filled ceremony, third grade students made the symbolic journey across the brick pathway between Deane-Porter and Forrestdale Schools. Then, in the Forrestdale Gymnasium, they were given a formal welcome and introduction to school where they will continue and complete their primary school education.