Imagine two people shaking hands and saying, “How do you do?” Then imagine a gymnasium full of 718 sixth- to 12th-grade students and 141 full-time teachers and staff all doing it at the same time. It is neither calm nor quiet. What it is full of is excitement, welcoming, laughter, handshaking and hugging.

On the first day of school at Cary Academy each year, students, teachers and staff file into the Sports & Fitness Center to take part in the Handshaking Ceremony. Each faculty, staff member and student shakes the hand of every other person in the room — quite a tall order, even for a small, close-knit school.

“We feel this is a nice community-building exercise,” said Toye Eskridge, marketing coordinator for Cary Academy. “It’s a way to introduce new students to the staff and each other and to reintroduce old students to one another.”

As students filed into the gym on Aug. 13, a cluster of good friends, Connor Roebuck, Olivia Banks and Sophie Robison, described their first day of high school. All 14 years old, the three girls have known each other since sixth grade, two of them since fourth grade. Their words spill out and interrupt each other in the way conversations of longtime friends do.

“We get to see our friends,” Roebuck said.

“And we’re nervous about schedules,” Banks said.

“And worried about homework,” Robison added.

As they got ready for the Handshaking Ceremony, they reflected on what makes it special.

“It’s cool to see your old teachers; they are happy to see you,” Robison said. “It was interesting last year when my sister was a sixth-grader.” Banks added, “It’s nice to have someone to talk to; the Handshaking Ceremony gives you a sense of knowing them …”

“… Even if you don’t really know them,” said Robison. “It gives you a feeling of recognition.”

The students took their places: sixth- through eighth-graders in the bleachers on the right side, high school students on the left. Each student, teacher and staff member wore a name tag.

The ceremony began with some words from Head of School Don Berger. Then faculty and staff formed a large square facing outward in the center of the gym floor. Amidst much laughter and excited talk, Berger’s voice announced each senior of the Class of 2009. The students filed down from the bleachers and began shaking hands. As each class finished, the next class lined up to start their welcomes.

“Good to see you!” and “Did you have a good summer?” echoed throughout the gym.

The sixth-graders waited their turn with bouncing legs and bright eyes.

“I’m really excited,” said Julia Sawchak, 11. “The Handshaking Ceremony is a little long, but a good way to get started.”

Sixth-grader John Rabon, 11, had heard a lot about Cary Academy from friends and couldn’t wait to get started. “I’m looking forward to using laptops and eating the good lunches,” he said. “The handshaking is a good idea — seniors will have lots of good memories.”

Will he? “And I’ll have memories about my first ceremony — my sixth-grade year,” he said.

Sue Tombes, an Upper School math teacher, experienced the event as both a teacher and mom. She has a seventh-grade daughter, Ellie, and ninth-grade son, Averett, at Cary Academy. “Cary Academy is a small, close-knit community, and this unique ceremony is a byproduct of being small,” she said. “There is the opportunity to make physical contact with everyone in the school.”