Eighty-seven students from the elementary school were celebrated for their advancement to Port Jefferson Middle School at the annual Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony on June 20.

Members of the Class of 2025 were honored with achievement and classroom awards, safety patrol and principal recognitions, as well as certificates to signify their promotion to middle school.

Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister, Assistant Principal Claudia Smith, fifth-grade teachers and Pauline Spiller, mother of graduate Cristyn Spiller, addressed the students with words of congratulations and pride.

Principal Thomas Meehan ended the ceremony with closing remarks that highlighted the students’ journey from pre-K through grade 5. To much applause and laughter, he quoted Ellen DeGeneres: “Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path — then, by all means, you should follow that.”

The traditional class gift — a bench with the school logo for the courtyard at the elementary school — was presented by Caroline Orofino, mother of Angela Orofino, and Lisa Becherer, mother of Molly Becherer.

The event culminated with the students singing “This Is Me,” the anthem from “The Greatest Showman” and an ice cream social for graduates and their guests.