From the nest to the sky: the Class of 2025 is ready to take flight

In the branches of the blooming redbud tree outside Jessie Yancey’s English classroom sits a nest. Throughout the spring, Ms. Yancey has watched as two robins named Mr. and Mrs. Robin Goodfellow — a wink by her student’s to Shakespeare’s Puck — swooped through the trees, bringing twigs and leaves to build their nest together. It was hard work. Work that the robins completed undeterred neither by the radiance of the sun nor the pounding drops of rain. It was work they did together, a shared mission, to build a home woven from pieces of nature from across campus.

As Ms. Yancey watched the nest come together, it dawned on her — that intentional building is what the senior class has been doing throughout their four years in Harpeth Hall’s upper school.

“We’ve been in the business of nest-making together,” Ms. Yancey said as she looked out at the senior class seated in front of her during Harpeth Hall’s annual Step Singing ceremony. “…For as you have been moving from one corner of this magnificent campus to another each day, you too have been on a mission. …You’ve all been weaving, back and forth, in service of something cumulatively greater than yourselves.

“And your parents, teachers, coaches – they have always been in on this building project, too. …Yet you were never passive recipients – you have been crucial crafters of this learning community yourselves, charged with purpose, lit up with intent. …You have been offering pieces of inspiration that have absorbed into brand new synergistic iterations. Weaving, swooping, layering, alive with the noble, tireless work of building.”

Then, as Ms. Yancey looked out at the crowd, she said aloud what every student and parent of the Class of 2025 had been preparing for — it was time for them to fly the nest.

That Sunday night, on the eve of graduation, the senior class gathered to pass down the leadership of the school to the juniors — standing together on the edge of the nest before “soaring into the sky.” The special ceremony carried on the beautiful singing tradition started by the women of Ward-Belmont nearly a century ago. The ceremony also honored the Lady of the Hall, the highest honor given to a member of the senior class, and representatives from each Harpeth Hall class.

Standing together in the Athletic and Wellness Center, the Class of 2025 passed on their leadership of Harpeth Hall by singing ABBA’s “Slipping Through My Fingers.” Senior class president Clara Scott Harden announced that the seniors would be planting a tree on campus in honor of their class.

The juniors accepted leadership of the school with their song, “Thank You for the Music,” by ABBA. Then, the Class of 2026 pledged to transmit Harpeth Hall better, greater, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to them.

Kiki Christopher, the 2025 Lady of the Hall, addressed the Class of 2026, saying “Once you’re standing here like me, the night before graduation, you’ll realize how profoundly unique Harpeth Hall made our childhood and teenage years. That we grew up under the shade of magnolia trees knowing we were valued and cared for, not only as students, but as peers, women, and humans.

“Harpeth Hall has allowed me to flourish in the truth that I do not know who I will be,” Kiki said. “This community has seen my greatest and weakest moments. But through it all, they have seen me. ...Thank you for treasuring my existence.”

Those treasured people and moments are everywhere at Harpeth Hall. Earlier this spring,  as the school year came nearer to a close, Ms. Yancey and her class felt a moment of despair as they looked into those redbud trees one morning to find the nest was empty. They worried for the birds. Were they okay? Did something happen? Small signs filled them with hope that the young birds and Mr. and Mrs. Robin Goodfellow had flown off to start their lives. What at first felt like a loss quickly became a symbol of growth and promise.

“Because in truth, an empty nest can be a hopeful, beautiful sight,” Ms. Yancey said. “Nests were never meant to be lived in forever. …That nest makes every moment of its creation worthwhile when its incubating phase is over. An empty nest is a sign of triumph that what was held here has now embarked upon something more dynamic and victorious than could ever exist within its bounds. And I hope you know that, even after your departure, this place is forever changed because of you, too.”

Before the 100 young women who make up the Class of 2025 set off on their next great adventure — just like that family of robins who, too, called this campus home — Ms. Yancey wanted each student to know three things:

1. You are loved.
2. You are loved.
3. You are loved.

“Seniors, it’s time for you to take wing from our magnolia-green hilltop and soar the skies,” Ms. Yancey concluded. “This beautiful, figurative nest of your alma mater was honored to hold you for so long. May you relish in the excitement of the unknown, trusting that you are forever surrounded by a web of support no matter how far you fly, and recognizing that you can face any victory or failure with grit and gratitude, just as you have here. You know you can.”

Lady of the Hall and the 2025 Court

Lady of the Hall: Saskia Auguste Christopher
Senior Representative: Kaitlin Irene Day
Junior Representative: Caroline Crocker Thomas
Sophomore Representative: Sophia Dare Harris
Freshman Representative: Louisa Ellen Ekiss
Eighth Grade Herald: Annika Rae Abramson
Seventh Grade Herald: Sarah Elizabeth Agnew
Sixth Grade Crownbearer: Annabelle Owens Flener
Fifth Grade Crownbearer: Katherine Palmer Polly
Flower Girls: Evelyn Elizabeth Hart and Millie Anne Spaulding