Following formal dinner on May 11, 2026, Kent’s annual Tapping ceremony took place. “Tapping” is the tradition of passing on the torch to the newly elected Senior Council (SC) members for the coming school year. The entire Kent community, including students, faculty, and staff, votes, and the top candidates are chosen to form the SC for the upcoming school year. This year, rather than simply selecting the top twenty candidates and later adding the two 6th form representatives, the top twenty-two candidates were selected. As a result, the 6th form representatives will now be four students instead of two and will no longer serve on the SC; they will be elected in the fall as are the representatives for the other forms. .

The ceremony began at 7:15 P.M. with the singing of the school hymn by the congregation and an opening statement from the Chaplain. Then came the recitation of a Psalm, followed by the lesson, taken from Sirach 3:17 and Sirach 4:14. The Class of 2027 then rose to recite the pledge of responsibility. Following the pledge, the present officers, upon being called forward by the Head of School, announced, from the head of the Nave, the name of their successor and escorted the candidate to the front of the Altar.

The position of Verger was passed down to John Pavelski ’27 and Jilly Avanceña ’27. The role of Sacristan will be filled by Gabriel Costales ’27 and El Cosgriff ’27. Then came the tapping of the newly elected Dorm Prefects: Atticus Woodward ’27 and Serena Huang ’27, Oluwatobi (Tobi) Alabi ’27 and Taylor Hennessey ’27, Henry Bleetstein ’27 and Pip Davies’27, Dylan Mallgrave ’27 and Ava Goeller ’27, Nick Davis ’27 and Zoe Karafotas ’27, and Rowan Santo s’27 and Shawn Clarke ’27.

Kevin Luo ’27 and Abi Victory ’27 were then “tapped” as the new Student Life Stewards, while Rylan Smerklo ’27 and Lucy Ober ’27 take on the role of Blue Key Heads. Finally, to round out the SC, Norah Zhao ’27 and Jeremy Peng ’27 join as the new Senior Prefects.

After all the candidates were announced, the service continued with the Lord’s Prayer and a prayer for grace and guidance. The Head of School then addressed the new Senior Council members, leading them in the oath. The ceremony was completed with a final prayer and the singing of the Kent School song, after which students gathered on chapel lawn to congratulate the new leaders.