If, during the past couple of days, you’ve walked through the Palm courtyard, you may have noticed something different about the area around the fountain. A new, brick pathway now encircles the fountain, completing the transformation of the courtyard that started with the removal of the bushes last year.

The circular brick path is the class of 2021’s senior gift. After raising money throughout their four years in the upper school, every graduating class has the opportunity to leave their mark by contributing an improvement to the school.

This year’s gift features bricks inlaid in the pathway with every graduating senior’s name engraved on them.

Furthermore, an engraving on the bricks gives tribute to Mr. Jensen, our Director of Admissions who passed away last year. Mr. Jensen left a powerful impact on the school and its students.

Senior class gifts have been a prominent part of campus for years. Some recent gifts have been the brick promenade leading to the middle school, the Senior Nest in the Holmes building and the study out tables in the hallways.

If you look closely, you can see the plaques commemorating each class gift throughout the school.

Upper School Director Mr. Forrester believes the Senior gift tradition is an opportunity for a senior class to “leave a great legacy here on campus.”

The current senior class has a big decision to make on what their gift will be. Students had the opportunity to voice their thoughts in a survey conducted at the Senior Breakfast. They came up with many different goals, but the consensus was, as senior Devin Mohr put it, that the gift should “make students’ lives easier.”

While it isn’t clear what the class of 2022 will go with, current and future seniors will look to the new bricks for inspiration on how to leave their mark. More than just a superficial change, the bricks are a visible reminder that grades can leave a legacy for the future.