Class of 2026, from the moment you entered high school, you began forming your reputation. It was evident from the beginning that you were a focused class, very focused! A serious class that worked hard because you wanted to be the best, and you were willing to put in the effort to get there.

You did just that and you have been incredibly successful.

You succeeded in the classroom, pushing yourselves academically and rising to challenges with determination and discipline. You continued that passion outside of the classroom. You attended programs in advanced Physics and Exploration Data Science, camps in a Fire Protection Engineering Design and in Astrophysics. You worked in a Johns Hopkins research lab, coauthored a paper on neuromuscular rehabilitation, and one of you coded a mathematical model to simulate pancreatic tumors and then simulated real patient tumors and tested treatments. This list exceeds amazing. 

You were outstanding in the athletic arenas, competing with heart, teamwork, and grit. You played on baseball and softball teams in the Maccabi games in Israel, played on a RAMS hockey team, and served as a youth baseball umpire. You have a karate blackbelt, are an elite gymnast, a fencer, and one of you won gold at the junior Olympics in air pistol and sports pistol. Two of you created a Weekly sports podcast called Dingers and Dashers to share your incredible sports knowledge with others. 

You have performed on stages, sharing your talent and creativity in many arenas. You are ballerinas and gifted musicians; you have performed in a choir for 9 years at Strathmore Music Center and in the Nutcracker each year. One of you is a flutist who has performed at Carnegie hall. You have won publications awards, you founded the school’s Ecosystem Restoration Club, and one of you is a member of the Civil Air Patrol and Aviation Academy and even flew an Air Force plane yourself. 

But perhaps most meaningfully, you gave back—showing up for those less fortunate, leading with compassion, and living the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, helping to repair the world. 

You have dashed from synagogue to synagogue to read Torah where they do not have a reader. You play piano for the residents at a retirement home and you participate with children with intellectual disabilities as part of MD Spec Olympics Alpine Ski Team.

You serve on the Friendship Circle and Imadi Leadership Boards, organizations that support children with various challenges or medical illnesses. You created School Pens to distribute school supplies to countries in need and you have been serving as a basketball coach for young children in wheelchairs. You volunteered at an Israeli orphanage and a team of you raised over $50,000 to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. And finally, you created “collegeforall”, a website that supports neurodivergent teens in their college search process. You have made us very proud with all that you have done. 

With all of that success, however, I remember a conversation I had with your grade government officers that revealed something else. You were proud of your accomplishments but you wanted more. You wanted more fun. More spirit. You wanted high school to be joyful.

And in your senior semester, you achieved that goal. 

You embraced fun with the same intensity you brought to everything else. You turned everywhere outside of the halls of JDS into battlegrounds during your game of Assassin. You ran, hid, and laughed your way through laser tag. You created spirit days that filled the school with color, noise, and ruach. 

And then of course we cannot forget Zimriyah where you turned the spirit corner.

In 11th grade, you didn’t just participate—you were passionate and unified. You showed what happens when cooperation, hard work and joy come together. That moment captured something essential about your class: when you commit, you commit fully—with excellence, enthusiasm and heart. And you continued that through senior year, making it a trifecta…. winning zim, powder puff and Hanukah Hullabaloo.

By the time you reached the end of your senior year, you had found balance. You have learned that seriousness has its place—but so does fun and laughter. That, while ambition is important, striving for greatness and success does not mean leaving joy behind.

When I think of the Class of 2026, I think of you as always going for gold. All along, you have been focused on BEING THE BEST!! Always focused on being a champion!! And you have succeeded. 

And so my gift to you is a gold medal; you have earned it and you, each and every one of you, is truly a CHAMPION. In addition, in this gift bag, there is a fidget to remind you to also have fun, a JDS luggage tag so you take JDS with you wherever you go and a toolkit from the JDS Parent Association.

As champions, the world needs more young people like you, young men and women who work hard, who are leaders, who care about making the world a better place. Go out into the world with your dedication, determination, and Jewish values; if you do that, you will help build a bright future for yourselves and others. If any group of young people can do it, you can.

And now, it is my honor and privilege to read the names of the graduating seniors of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School Class of 2026.