Louis M. Klein Middle School Moving Up Ceremony Celebrates Largest Class in Harrison History
The Harrison community celebrated the Louis M. Klein Middle School 8th-grade class of 2026 at a Moving Up Ceremony held at the Harrison High School Performing Arts Center on June 25th. A highlight of the ceremony was the performance of “Moving Along,” an original song written by 8th-grade students in the Modern Music Studio.
LMK Principal Scott Fried welcomed families to “his favorite night of the school year,” before curtains opened revealing 325 eighth-grade students, the largest class in HCSD history. He described this class as living representatives of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile who embody the district’s core values: “You left your mark on LMK and set an example for others to follow.”
Dr. Wool asked the graduates if they remembered reading The Hunger Games, where children’s names are drawn from a lottery. When her sister’s name is called, a fate no child should face, Katniss steps forward and stands in her place. He told another story about a name being called: a mother he once found weeping on an empty playground, because a student had asked her daughter’s name, and no one ever had before. The bravest thing, he told them, is not stepping forward when your own name is called, but it could be stepping forward when someone else’s name is called, or it is never called at all, and you choose to be the one who asks. He closed with an inspiring reminder, “You are the largest class in our history, and you have the ability to make the high school even more magnificent than it is.”
Board of Education President Kelly Kozak thanked families and the Harrison community for their support of our children and our schools. She encouraged the eighth graders to reflect on how they have changed since arriving at LMK, and reminded them, “Stay curious. Stay open, and trust that you are ready for what comes next.”
Student speakers Kevin Kearny and Erica Visogliosi shared reflections on “Looking Back” at their time at LMK and “Looking Ahead” to Harrison High School. Kevin reminded his classmates that they arrived at LMK excited, nervous, or scared, but leave together as Harrison Huskies.
Harrison High School Principal Ms. Beukema officially welcomed the future Harrison High School Class of 2030 and led students in a symbolic procession out of the high school Performing Arts Center, marking their transition to high school.