With the new year at St. Paul’s School, the senior class had an array of activities to commemorate Senior Week on Aug. 17-21. These activities included the Senior Barbeque, March Through the Arch, Unity Day, Ring Ceremony, and Ring Holiday.
“Senior week is important because it attempts to bring together everything that these guys have experienced since they stepped foot on St. Paul’s,” President Bro. Ray Bulliard, FSC, said. “It’s an opportunity for them to talk and have a conversation with each other on a level in which they don’t normally speak.”
The week kicked off last Monday, Aug. 17, 2015, with the Senior Barbeque. The Barbeque was an opportunity for all the seniors to come together as a class and do something everyone loves: eat good food and play games.
“The Senior Barbeque was a lot of fun,” senior Patrick Stewart said. “It was really laid back.”
The festivities continued on Thursday with March Through the Arch, a tradition that began in 1995 when the current arch was built. According to Bro. Ray, by marching through the arch, the seniors are officially accepting their roles as leaders on campus. They are honoring the many people who have walked onto the campus before them; they are “joining a royal priesthood, a kingship,” he said during the ceremony.
“It’s a lot more real than you think it’s going to be,” senior Logan Haydel said. “You’re expecting just to walk a couple hundred yards and smile so your mom can take a good picture, but that’s probably when it hits most of the seniors that this really is their last year here. Then, they’re gone for good.”
Following March Through the Arch, the seniors held Unity Day in the school theater for the class to come together before the true start of senior year and unify them as a class. Unity Day included group talks and individual sharing of St. Paul’s and personal experiences.
“Unity Day is… indescribable,” Haydel said. “All I can say is we bonded as a class, and we are a much tighter class now. It was definitely the highlight of my St. Paul’s career.”
Later that evening was the Ring Ceremony, which included a prayer service where seniors received the traditional SPS ring, identifying them as seniors.
“Every part of Senior Week is my favorite,” Bro. Ray said. “When the seniors march through the arch, that’s my favorite part. When they talk to each other on Unity Day, that’s my favorite part. When they all receive their rings, that’s my favorite part.”
Senior Week concluded with a day off of school on Friday.
“This school was built on tradition. We have to keep this tradition going. It’s one that I truly think will keep going to the end,” Bro. Ray said.
Video Credits:
The Paper Wolf 