Convocation is an exciting new element at St. Rose this year.  The idea is to bring the school together as a community on a daily basis and the effects are fantastic. With this new set-up, the students and faculty can communicate directly to each other and express new ideas that they have. Convocation also includes new, recurring segments a few times a week. The whole school community meets every morning in the gym, other than Wednesdays,  when students go to their homeroom.

 

The meeting includes announcements from students, teachers, and members of the administration about school news and reminders. Also, at each convocation it begins and ends with a blessing from Father Chris, which includes our new school prayer: “Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever. St. Rose of Lima, pray for us.” The student body has really taken to the new prayer and it gives the school a sense of identity.

 

Another fun part of this new function is the weekly student spotlight. This highlights a student or group of students to be recognized in front of the school community for the great acts they have done. The first students under the spotlight were Jenny and Jamie Bassi. They were recognized for going on a week-long mission trip to Puerto Rico to assist victims in recovery from the devastating Hurricane Maria that hit in 2017. One of the other segments at convocation is called: Did You Know? This brings students and faculty closer together by giving interesting, unknown fun facts about faculty members or students. One of the newer segments is birthday shoutouts, in which a member of student council announces whose birthday it is, teacher or student. The school also recently installed a new sound system for the gym and a massive screen to display highlights from sports and other school activities.

 

Convocation has truly set the tone for this school year and the school’s future. It produces a positive attitude for the whole community and everyone is thrilled about all of the new ideas becoming reality.