Choosing Good Character: The Middle School Honor Ceremony
CDS middle school students marked an important milestone by pledging to live with honesty, integrity, and respect during the annual Honor Code Ceremony.
Middle school is often described as a bridge; no longer the hand-held days of lower school, but not yet the independent leaps of upper school. It’s a place in between, where students begin to step into who they want to become. At Carrollwood Day School, this in-between stage is where we ask students to make a promise: a commitment to live with honesty, integrity, and respect through the Middle School Honor Code Ceremony.
The Honor Code reads: : "As a member of the CDS community, I acknowledge and affirm my duty to act with honesty, integrity, and respect in all aspects of school life, and I expect others to do the same. I believe in education with character."
Reciting these words together is more than a tradition, it’s a pledge to make the right decisions, even when no one is watching. Middle school is the perfect moment for this promise, because it is here that students begin making more choices on their own. The Honor Code reminds them that character should guide every one of those choices.
Before the ceremony, students took time to reflect on what honor means in their own lives, helping them enter the moment with the right mindset. Their reflections reveal how deeply they understand the weight of this commitment.
"When I think of honor, I think of how it is the spine of a community. To have honor, you need respect and integrity. You can show these things in all aspects of your life."
- Tannistha R. '32
"Honor means to me being respectful and kind. It means showing good actions or kindness. You can show honesty, integrity, and respect in your life by being a trustworthy, principled, and caring person." - Harley M. '32
The Honor Code Ceremony marks an important step in our students’ educational journey. It is not just about the words they say, but about the actions they choose from this moment forward. By pledging to live with honor, CDS middle schoolers embrace the responsibility of becoming people of character, today, tomorrow, and for the years ahead.