King's Academy, Wednesday, June 7, 2010—As the sun set over the King's Academy Refectory Square last Wednesday evening, the members of the Class of 2010 gathered with their parents, faculty members and other guests for the First Annual Senior Dinner.

Seniors Dana Aljawamis, Dana Alasker and Lawrence Shweihat opened the evening's festivities by delivering short salutations in French, Chinese and Spanish, respectively—the three foreign languages taught at King's.

Alasker also presented the senior gift along with classmate Hayat Abu Samra—a donation to the Widmer Fund for Student Life.

Next, Perry Vella, a member of the Deerfield Class of 1980 Association, presented the King Abdullah II Award to Headmaster Dr. Eric Widmer. The award is a beautiful marble and mahogany rendition of the King's Academy logo, to be awarded each year at Commencement to the "member of the graduating class...who most embodies the qualities that are central to the King's Academy experience."

After a delicious three-course dinner concocted by King's Academy Chef Bassam Amer, Dean of Academic Affairs Alia Wakileh began the presentation of the senior awards. Over 30 awards were handed out for a range of achievements including prizes from each of the academic departments, prizes based on the five guiding principles (respect, love of learning, responsibility, an integrated life and global citizenship), headmaster's awards, an award named for Chairman of the Board of Trustees Professor Safwan M. Masri and awards named for former faculty members.

"The setting was perfect under the twilight," said Dr. Widmer. "I thought we really needed a time to recognize everything the seniors had accomplished collectively and individually. It also allowed us to show off the versatility of our kitchen staff through a wonderful dinner."

The dinner party closed with an address by Emerita Dean of the Faculty Dr. Meera Viswanathan in which—among other things—she recited a verse in Arabic from a poem by Jahiliya poet Umru' Al Qays.  

Following the dinner, guests were treated to a performance of Noel Coward's play Private Lives directed by Faculty Member Jana Zeinnedine. The story line follows the tumultuous relationship of Amanda (Hana Mufti '11) and Elyot (Faris Baytaneh '11), a divorced couple who meet again on their honeymoons with their respective new spouses-Victor (Jaber Al- Sabah '11) and Sybil (Caroline Kelsoe '13). Set in 1930s France, the three-act play took the audience from Deauville to Paris as the cast brilliantly performed the romantic comedy.

After the performance, the senior class headed to the Gallery which served as the venue for reflections, memories, tears and goodbyes. The emotional gathering lasted until just before 23:00, when to end on a lighter note, a pizza delivery brought everyone together once more around the proverbial table.