On May 21, 2026 Norah graduated from Greenhill's Lower School. It was a beautiful ceremony mainly led by the students themselves.
The ceremony itself was a bit of journey. It started with the attire; Norah's first concern was whether she must wear a dress. Her teacher, Mr. Krauss, assured her that a dress was not required as long as she dressed nicely. Another girl's mom in a similar situation reached out and we shared our plan. Then Norah realized that not wearing a dress would attract more attention than she wanted, so she wanted a dress after all. Norah and Mom settled on the outfit you see below (and the other girl ended up wearing a dress too).
Several weeks before the ceremony, the school asked the fourth graders to nominate fellow students for the Helen Misura Award. Typically awarded to one girl and one boy, it honors the fourth-grade students who best exemplify the qualities of scholarship, citizenship, sportsmanship, and leadership. Norah would frequently, but casually, mention how much she would like to win the award. Normally adverse to the spotlight, this felt like a new aspect of her personality.
About a week before the ceremony, Norah came home saying she had some really awesome news to share, and our thoughts jumped to "was she selected for the Misura award?". But no, she had been selected to read her essay on a lower school experience (full text below). We couldn't wait to see Norah read in front of all her lower school peers and their families (I think I was more nervous about it than Norah!). However, we felt a bit disappointed for Norah because we doubted the school would feature the Helen Misura Awardee as a presenter too. After describing the award and the process for selecting the recipients, our hearts skipped a beat when Mr. Simpson announced "Norah Leven!"
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| Open remarks by Mr. Simpson, Head of Lower School |
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| Norah proceeding onto the stage |
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| Time to read her essay |
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| Norah reciting "The Magic of Confidence" |
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| Lee Hark, Head of School, presenting the Helen Misura Award |
The Magic of Confidence
By Norah Leven
The first thing I noticed was the white table filled with props, including an animation book that I made myself. The desks were arranged like I was the star of a show. Everyone’s attention was on me, and it made me feel nervous, so my words seemed to catch in my throat. I had dressed like a security guard for Walt Disney. My notecards were a bit crumpled, and I held them tight. The camera seemed alive, on a stand, ready to record my every move.
In front of me, my classmates sat ready for the show to start. Mrs. Dzialowski nodded her head, and I started my BioBookTalk on Walt Disney. I felt nervous and jittery, but also excited. My voice started shaky, my hands sweaty, but as I continued speaking, I felt more confident. I realized that nobody would judge me even if I messed up. Little by little, I felt my nervousness wash away and I noticed that my voice got steadier. This was the first time I understood the magic of confidence.
Then came the hardest part. Showing my props. My favorite prop was an animated book that I made myself, though I was afraid that it might not work the way it was supposed to. I was especially proud of this prop because making animation work is super hard and I did it all without help. I made this book because Walt Disney specialized in animation, and his influence is still here. I felt my heart beating faster and many pairs of eyes on me. I took a deep breath and continued. I started to feel more confident when I reached the end of the props part of my presentation because everyone looked intrigued in Walt Disney. It made me feel special and seen
When I finished my presentation, it was time for questions. I thought, “This can’t be too hard,” and it wasn’t. I changed out of my clothes, then sat down to watch my other classmates, feeling happy and relieved. This memory taught me to have confidence when presenting things in front of groups. In the future I will remember this 3rd grade experience and that, even if I make a mistake, everyone will cheer me on. Before this experience, I was always super nervous and didn’t want to be on stage. But once I started believing in myself, that slowly changed. Now I like to speak in public and take opportunities like hosting Build-a-thon and showing the lower school to a future teacher.
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