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Eighth graders 'sent up' to the upper school

Ransom Everglades welcomed its eighth-grade class to the upper school on May 29 during the annual Eighth-Grade Send-Up ceremony at the Lewis Family Auditorium. The traditional milestone event celebrated the 177 students in the Class of 2030, marking their transition from middle school to high school life.
The evening featured the presentation of more than two dozen end-of-year awards across academics, athletics, arts, service and leadership, and offered musical performances and poetry readings. The event concluded with a speech by student government representative Gabriel Revilla ’30 and a roll call of each student’s name read by Ryder Dalal ’30 and Sabina Wright ’30.

The ceremony culminated with the presentation of the highest middle school honors: the Paul C. Ransom Founder’s Cup was awarded to Axel Monssoh ’30, and the Marie Swenson Founder’s Cup was awarded to Zoe Theiler ’30. The Outstanding Athlete Awards were given to Sebastiano Alves de Lima ’30 and Nina Lazo ’30, and Vinay Rajadhyaksha ’30 and Julianna Hart ’30 each earned a Scholar Athlete Award. Joaquin Gonzalez ’30 received the Faculty Award. 

Head of the Middle School Pete Di Pace paused the student ceremonies to recognize long-serving middle school faculty members for special anniversaries. Honorees included Rene Gonzalez, Gina Montet and Heidi Steen for 20 years of service; Elsa Munoz for 25 years; Constance Hyde for 30 years; and Donald Kappelman for 40 years of service.

Eighth-Grade Dean Furqan Tinsley bestowed the Core Value Awards on students who exemplified The RE Way in 2025-26. The recipients: Keane Mason ’30 (Joy & Wellbeing), Yifan Shen ’30 (Honor & Excellence), Jane Palazzi ’30 (Service & Outreach), Gabriel Revilla ’30 (Support & Community) and Alia Rahman ’30 (Diversity & Inclusion). Tinsley also recognized Zarah Broome-Webster ’30, Sammy Mendoza ’30 and Caden Thomas ’30 as Independent School of South Florida (ISSF) STAR Students.

See a full list of award winners and program participants:

Performance Awards
Visual Arts Award: Marlo Sohn '30
Dance Award: Fernanda Dueñas '30
Strings Award: Alyssa Wang '30
Band Award: Yifan Shen '30
Technical Theatre Award: Jane Palazzi '30
Drama Award: James Harper '30
Piper Bonnell Award: Jacob Steinberg '30
Musical Theater Award: Ezekiel Greengrass '30 and Sasha Estefan Coppola '30

Academic Awards
Physical Education Award: Julien Roy '30 and Salma Salman '30
Lois B. Styles Award for Excellence in Mathematics: Maya Lee-Schonfeld '30
George Kasyan Award for Excellence in Science: Freya Samuel '30 Margaret Fitzgerald & Harriet Grinnell English Award: Nina Shah '30 History and Social Sciences Award: Alejandro Gonzalez '30
Outstanding Achievement in World Languages Awards
Spanish: Joaquin Magdalena '30
Portuguese: Noah Lopes '30
Chinese: Claire Tate '30
French: Matias Uster Valdivieso '30

School Awards
Joy & Wellbeing Award: Keane Mason '30 
Honor & Excellence Award: Yifan Shen '30
Service & Outreach Award: Jane Palazzi '30
Support & Community Award: Gabriel Revilla '30
Diversity & Inclusion Award: Alia Rahman '30
ISSF Star Awards: Zarah Broome-Webster '30, Sammy Mendoza '30, Caden Thomas '30

Faculty Recognition
20 years of service: Rene Gonzalez, Gina Montet, Heidi Steen
25 years of service: Elsa Munoz
30 years of service: Constance Hyde
40 years of service: Donald Kappelman

Major Awards
Outstanding Athlete: Sebastiano Alves de Lima '30 and Nina Lazo '30
Scholar Athlete: Vinay Rajadhyaksha '30 and Julianna Hart '30
Faculty Award: Joaquin Gonzalez '30
Paul C. Ransom Founder's Cup: Axel Monssoh '30
Marie B. Swenson Founder's Cup: Zoe Theiler '30

Performers and Presenters
Eighth-Grade Strings Ensemble
“Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve, arr. Patrick Roszell
Felicia Bland ’30, Ivy Chen ’30, Celine Dubose ’30, George Karavetsos ’30,
Noah Lopes ’30, Mason Pearce ’30, Jake Reinhard ’30, Adam Rizvi ’30,
Ethan Siesel ’30, Alyssa Wang ’30, Erin Cunningham ’30
 
Eighth-Grade Advanced Band
“Lean on Me” by Bill Withers/arr. Cathi Leibinger
Zarah Broome-Webster ’30, Sasha Estefan Coppola ’30,
Leonardo Font ’30, Alejandro Gonzalez ’30, Joaquín Gonzalez ’30,
Rohan Harihara ’30, Yifan Shen ’30
 
Musical Theatre
“Heart and Music” from A New Brain by William Finn
Leia Caplow ’30, Hannah Dubovy ’30, Sasha Estefan Coppola ’30,
Ezekiel Greengrass ’30, James Harper ’30, Jane Palazzi ’30,
Gwyneth Rothfield ’30, Nina Shah ’30, Marlo Sohn ’30,
Jacob Steinberg ’30, Alyssa Wang ’30
 
Student Poems
“1,000 Pieces” by Luisa Abril ’30
“A Fresh Start” by Lara Galarce ’30
“The Last Day of School” by Grace Kern ’30
 
Pledge of Allegiance: Robert Thornburg ’30 and Matias Uster Valdivieso ’30
 
Student Speaker: Gabriel Revilla ’30, Student Government Representative
Roll Call: Ryder Dalal ’30 and Sabina Wright ’30
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. It is rated the top private school in Miami and among the 10 private schools in North America. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.


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