Reverent strains of “God Save the Queen” echoed across campus on Thursday, March 13, as the eighth-graders gathered for the annual Knighting of Sherlock Holmes Ceremony, tea party, and spirited debate on women’s suffrage. Prime Minister William Gladstone (Nicole Enciso and Mitchell Turner) along with Queen Victoria (Jessica Appel and Fiona Stenton) welcomed the preeminent thinkers of their time to room 6A, magically transformed for the occasion into Buckingham Palace. From the ornately designed door banner to the exquisite menus, programs, place cards, place settings, and—of course—the delectable tea and treats, the affair exuded elegance.

Upon receiving their invitations to this momentous event (by way of an English assignment to accompany the reading of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles), students choose an illustrious figure to impersonate from the late Victorian era. They then research and present details about this person’s life and works as well as arguments in his or her voice either for or against the question under debate: “Should women be afforded the rights and privileges of men?” After robust yet civilized discussion (and numerous cucumber sandwiches, chocolate-covered strawberries, petits fours, and fruit tarts), the Prime Minister calls for a vote on the question. This year the “ayes” carried in both classes.

Participants in the Blue class this year included Christian Macdonald as Orville Wright (accompanied by his brother Wilbur until an unfortunate accident disabled poor Wilbur just before the ceremony), Victor Jackson as George Washington Carver, Charlie Bland as Albert Einstein, Maria Taylor as Madame Curie, Veronica Morgan as Florence Nightingale, Kassie Kershaw as Isadora Duncan, Hunter Modisett as Dr. Sigmund Freud, An-Quang Nguyen as Claude Debussy, Daniel Lloyd as Teddy Roosevelt, Amy Carlsen as Paul Gauguin, Luca Guarro as Guglielmo Marconi, Esther Shin as Claude Monet, Jin-Ah Kim as Mark Twain, Steven Orler as Sir Sherlock Holmes, Patrick Mitchel as Dr. Watson, Nicole Enciso as Prime Minister Gladstone, and Jessica Appel as Queen Victoria.

Attendees in the Green class included Kendyl Douglas as Jane Addams, Jack Zellweger as Wilbur Wright, Hayley Walsh as Florence Nightingale, Dakota Smith as Teddy Roosevelt, Yoojin Cha as Mohandas Gandhi, Katelyn Marquez as Willa Cather, Evan Doornink as Mark Twain, Zack Winter as Thomas Edison, Nalani Wakinekona as Madame Curie, Nicole Newman as Mary Cassatt, Gavin Burrell as Sir Sherlock Holmes, Mitchell Turner as Prime Minister Gladstone, and Fiona Stenton as Queen Victoria.

Attendees in the Green class included Kendyl Douglas as Jane Addams, Jack Zellweger as Wilbur Wright, Hayley Walsh as Florence Nightingale, Dakota Smith as Teddy Roosevelt, Yoojin Cha as Mohandas Gandhi, Katelyn Marquez as Willa Cather, Evan Doornink as Mark Twain, Zack Winter as Thomas Edison, Nalani Wakinekona as Madame Curie, Nicole Newman as Mary Cassatt, Gavin Burrell as Sir Sherlock Holmes, Mitchell Turner as Prime Minister Gladstone, and Fiona Stenton as Queen Victoria.

Also attending were Ms. Mary Todd as Henrietta Stackpole, an American journalist recording the event for The Times of London; Mrs. Michelle Kershaw, head caterer for the Palace and proud mother of Isadora Duncan; and Mr. Adam Walch, the Royal Tutor, who graciously doubled as tea-pourer and sandwich-passer. All declared the event a resounding success!