As Reed Intermediate School Principal Anne Uberti welcomed her entire school community to an end of the year assembly on June 13, the last day of the 2018-19 school year, she said the musical event was for “sixth graders getting ready to move on and fifth graders getting ready to move up.”

Retiring teachers were celebrated at the event, and the assembly, to her surprise later, also included honoring Ms Uberti before she starts her next position as Newtown’s assistant superintendent. Ms Uberti was chosen by the Board of Education at its meeting on May 7 to serve as the district’s new assistant superintendent of schools following the 2018-19 school year.

The annual end of the year assembly highlighted Reed’s student musicians. The Bucket Band, a group of students and educators, played rhythmic beats on plastic buckets; band students and orchestra students performed; and chorus students sang under the direction of retiring music teacher Michelle Tenenbaum, who offered a surprise to fellow retiring teacher Petrice DiVanno. Ms Tenenbaum called Ms DiVanno up before directing the students through singing “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Ms DiVanno waved her hands in the air to the tune of the song, and as it came to a close, the two retiring educators embraced and waved good-bye together.

Later, Ms Uberti and Assistant Principal Jill Bontatibus-Beaudry handed out flowers to the retiring teachers, including paraeducator Bob Gaines. When Ms Bontatibus-Beaudry held one more bouquet of flowers, she surprised Ms Uberti with it.

Ms Uberti said Reed is a special place because of the “caring adults” that make up the school’s community. Since being hired as Reed’s principal in 2013, Ms Uberti said the last six years have been “the most rewarding” of her life.

A group of educators then performed “The Twist” and “Schools Out” while the assembled students and teachers danced.

And finally, just after the assembly dismissed, Ms Bontatibus-Beaudry announced over the loudspeaker one final surprise for Ms Uberti: All of the school’s students were lining the top hallways of the school to create a “Kindness Gauntlet” for Ms Uberti to walk through while the song “Happy” played.

Ms Uberti slapped high-fives and walked through the lined hallways. As she rounded a final corner, students chanted “Ms Uberti” while rhythmically stomping their feet.