Time flies! While it feels like just yesterday the Strelitz International Academy’s Class of 2017 graduated, seven years have passed and these students are graduating from high school.
Last month, these alumni and their parents returned to SIA for a special Senior Sendoff reunion – revisiting their preschool and elementary school days.
The students were thrilled to reconnect with each other, picking up right where they left off. Although many had visited the Sandler Family Campus since graduation, most had not been in the school wing for seven years. The excitement was palpable as they observed the changes in the school, shared memories, and enthusiastically greeted former teachers while exploring their old classrooms. The teens were astonished at how small everything seemed compared to their elementary school days.
The current fifth-grade students enjoyed interacting with the visiting alumni, asking questions about their experiences in middle and high school. The alumni, now recent graduates from Cape Henry Collegiate, Norfolk Academy, Norfolk Collegiate, Tidewater Collegiate Academy, and First Colonial High School, shared their insights and stories.
“We are immensely proud to have provided these students with a strong Jewish and academic foundation,” says Heather Moore, SIA head of school. “They have grown into accomplished high school graduates, ready to embark on their next journeys in higher education.”
![Recreating their graduation: Jonah Zuckerman, Skyel Nidam, Talia Chapel, Sam Stromberg, Leila Abrams, Sylvie Cardon, Izzie Seeman, and Isabella Leon.](https://jewishnewsva.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sia-grads.jpg)
The students are headed to:
Baylor University
College of Charleston
Young Judaea Year Course in Israel
Dartmouth
Hollins University
Syracuse
University of Central Florida
University of South Carolina
University of Virginia
William & Mary
HAT/Strelitz alumni are requested to send updated contact information to Carin Simon, director of advancement, at csimon@strelitzacademy.org in order to keep in touch.