The upper school commemorated the fifth anniversary of 9/11/01 with an assembly Monday, September 11th. The first two senior speeches of the year, given by Mary McElveen and William Mills, dealt with each student’s understanding of the events and impact of that day.

Mary said, “Nine-eleven has changed the way I feel about the safety of our country because I never thought that we would be so vulnerable to an attack like this. Using our own planes as weapons was something that was completely unexpected and shocking to the entire country.” William remembered the sense of patriotism Americans felt after the attacks: “After that day national heroes like the members of the New York Fire Department sprouted up and were supported by everyone. The American people were putting aside their racial differences and making the support going into New York so enormous. Everyone in America working together allowed our country to become unified, making it stronger than before.”

Following the speeches, Headmaster de Pencier asked for a few moments of silence after which the students recited the Pledge of Allegiance.