21 September 2009

Brightest and best...

We have some pretty amazing students here at the Academy. Our Upper School graduates are already making their mark in the world of higher education, and the students who are now preparing to enter our Upper School show tremendous promise - in academics, certainly - but most importantly, in their character and moral sense.

This past week we awarded twenty-six scholarships amounting to more than $80,000 to several members of the eighth grade class. These are students who plan to complete their high school education in our Upper School because they value the Catholic and classical program we offer. No longer are our students easily lured away by the promises of "more fun" in other institutions. In their growing maturity they have come to realize that high educational standards and being serious about the Faith don't exclude having a good time. It's gratifying to see young people with the right priorities.

Photo above: This year's eighth grade class.
Photo below: Joseph Pecha, student with the highest academic achievement.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't really believe that most who are drawn away do it for "more fun" at other bigger schools. That diminishes the good reasons other families have for attending those schools.

Fr. Christopher G. Phillips said...

There are some students who choose to attend a particular high school because of a family link to the institution, and that's perfectly understandable.

But a great number of decisions made by former students were based on such things as Friday night football, a desire to be part of a cheerleading squad, or even because the academic load would be lighter. This was our actual experience, and I can acknowledge the reality of those decisions without accepting their legitimacy. I'm delighted that we're not hearing those shallow reasons very often anymore.

Peter Simpson said...

When I was a pupil at Leeds Grammar School our Maths teacher (who was also in charge of the Chapel Choir) used to refer to the boys in my class as 'dullest and worst of the sons of the evening.' Actually I was rather good at Maths, but enjoyed his humour. I think some of my less religious friends wondered what on earth he was going on about!

Fr. Christopher G. Phillips said...

But the hymn he was referencing is terrific!