Students Embrace Tradition in Heartwarming Rose Ceremony

Seniors from Sleepy Hollow High School (SHHS) and first-graders from W.L. Morse gathered on Wednesday, October 2 to celebrate a cherished tradition: the Annual Rose Ceremony. In its 34th year, the event featured seniors welcoming first-graders into the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns by presenting them with a red rose and a T-shirt adorned with the saying “Class of 2036.” The Sleepy Hollow High School Chorus delivered a moving rendition of “Child of Tomorrow” for students and parents attending this touching event.

The traditional song "Child of Tomorrow" has been performed by the Chorus group, led by Gail Persad, the Sleepy Hollow High School Choir Teacher, for the past 25 years. "Child of Tomorrow" is a song through which the senior class expresses their best wishes to the younger generation, who represent the future filled with new possibilities, hope, and the promise of a brighter and better tomorrow.

“It holds a message for the first graders to remind them that they one day will be a senior and that they are our future,” said Ms. Persad. “They will acquire the knowledge and wisdom as they go through each year of school. As they approach their senior year, the song invites them to have courage and follow their heart to whatever direction that leads them home.”
This Rose Ceremony brings together the graduating class and those in their very first year. It unites them and forms a unique bond and symbolizes the educational journey students go through while at the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns.

"The rose ceremony is a great tradition which allows students to reflect on the journey of their education while also giving back to their community. We are lucky that students get to experience this special moment with their classmates and with the first graders, and that we get to see such a special event transpire," said Sleepy Hollow High School Principal Dr. Deborah Brand.

“The Rose Ceremony is a wonderful tradition that illustrates our caring school community," added Torrance Walley, Principal of W.L. Morse School.

As the seniors look back on their years in the district, the first graders are offered a glimpse of what their own future might hold. While 2036 may seem distant to the first graders, for the graduating class of 2025, time has flown by in the blink of an eye. In the spring, these same students will come together again, but this time, the first graders will present a rose to the seniors, wishing them well on their next chapter.