Spring Street International School celebrates three graduates

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 23, 2026

By Marieke Danniau

Journal contributor

On June 12 at 2:30 p.m., Spring Street International School held the graduation of its 2026 senior class. With a modest class size of three, the ceremony was fittingly intimate, unique, and personalized to each of the students: Joslin Florence Broetje Bairstow, George Bernard King and Else Erika Kathleen Torri Ranker. The event featured an opening speech from the head of school, Angela Maguire, speeches from each of the seniors, the class slideshow, the school’s tradition of giving words to the seniors and the official graduation of the class and conferring of diplomas by Maguire and by board chair John Moalli.

Once the audience had settled, the event began with the three seniors escorted by their parents to the stage, where three specifically chosen chairs awaited them. One black leather with metal armrests, one light aqua chenille and one old brown leather. “It probably looks like an unusual decorating choice,” Maguire said in her speech. “Today, we commend these extraordinary young people who have left their mark, not only on our school, but on some very specific places on campus.” The chairs represented where the seniors spent their time during their years as students, working, socialising and simply sitting.

During each of the seniors’ speeches, they spoke about their time at Spring Street, their time on the island and their time with the members of their community who helped shape them into the young adults they have become. In the class slideshow, each senior had a series of images following them from early childhood to where they are now. And, after that, continuing the school’s long-standing graduation tradition, each senior was given a word chosen by faculty that they felt embodied that student’s spirit. The small class size allowed the school to focus deeply on the individuals, with three select faculty members speaking per student, all describing how that student embodied their word.

The speeches were heartfelt and tear-jerking, for the speakers as well as the audience. Bairstow’s given word was “true,” King’s was “independent,” and Ranker’s was “wayfinder.” This was the first graduation ceremony held in Spring Street’s newly built “Commons” building, constructed for the purpose of large events like this, as well as for holding classrooms and the school’s theater productions throughout the year.

Many congratulations to the graduates, and, as Maguire said about the class, “Let’s remember the spaces in our lives that they have occupied, and imagine, with joy, all the new spaces they will explore.”