The 2016-2017 school year officially began this morning with the Upper School’s annual Matriculation Ceremony, which invited students and faculty to the Quad to attend a series of speeches and performances.

After the seniors, juniors and sophomores took their seats, the Upper School faculty, dressed in black caps and gowns, walked into the Quad and sat onstage. Both students and faculty then stood and applauded during the processional of the Class of 2020, the new freshman class.

Head of School Christopher Nikoloff then stepped to the podium to deliver the first speech of Matriculation and discuss the importance of welcoming new members into the Harker community.

“The vision of you standing and applauding all of the new members of the Upper School- freshmen, anyone else who has joined the upper school community- is so inspirational,” he said.

Cantilena, directed by vocal music teacher Susan Nace, then performed “This Little Light of Mine.” Afterwards, Upper School Division Head Butch Keller addressed the audience with a speech about respect, integrity and character. Keller also decided to break with tradition and speak without referencing any notes, citing his desire to step out of his comfort zone.

“Mr. Keller’s speech was nice; it was a little bit different considering he didn’t read from the podium but besides that, it was basically reiterating the same ideas that we’re supposed to already know,” Linus Li (11) said.

ASB president Sandip Nirmel (12) then made his speech. He commented on the construction of the new events center and gymnasium and addressed each of the classes individually, focusing on making the most out of both the new school year and the future.

“If senior year is a carrot, let’s extract as much juice from this carrot as possible,” Sandip said while speaking to the Class of 2017. “America is built on the idea that you don’t let obstacles stand in your way; you find workarounds, engineer solutions and pursue your passions.”

Following an acknowledgement of ASB and class council members and a reading of the Matriculation oath, Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano introduced the Harker String Quartet, comprised of violinists May Gao (12) and Cuebeom Choi (12), violist Jerry Peng (10) and cellist Edward Oh (12). The quartet performed a rendition of “Nothing Else Matters,” a song originally performed by Metallica, while students new to the Upper School signed the Honor Code.

Members of ASB and the class councils then gave freshmen a preview of school life with their annual presentation of “Freshman 101.” This year’s skits centered on the adventures of freshman Bob the Builder and his encounters with superheroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, the Powerpuff Girls, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Teen Titans.

“Freshman 101 was an interesting way to introduce new students to the Upper School,” Annie Ma (9) said. “I thought the presentations were really funny.”

Nikoloff then took the stage once more to deliver his closing remarks. After the recessional of the faculty, students left the quad to meet with their advisory, attend grade-level orientations and take their pictures for the yearbook. Students also checked their lockers and received time management worksheets from their advisors.

Classes for the 2016-2017 school year will begin next Monday, on Aug. 22.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Nicole Chen

Members of faculty walk the traditional processional with the freshmen at the start of the ceremony. The Matriculation Ceremony took place on the morning of Aug. 19 in the Quad.