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February 22, 2024
Yesterday, we held a special blazer/pinning ceremony on campus which ushered in a new tradition, honoring our upperclassmen as leaders in our school community. Historically, we have reserved the honor of the blazer for only the seniors to wear. This year marks a transition in our academy to extending the call of leadership to our juniors as well, while recognizing the elevated and unique position of our seniors with a special Spartan pin to adorn their blazers.
It felt especially appropriate to make this change with these two particular cohorts. It is good that THIS senior class be the first to be given this additional honor, given their outstanding character. Likewise, our juniors have shown themselves to be worthy of this additional responsibility of leadership.
My message to the students was to define what good leadership should look like and thus the responsibility this ceremony asks of them. It focused on the idea that leadership is not about holding a title occupying a position of authority, but about serving others and embodying characteristics and principles which serve as an example for others in our community to follow.
Leadership is a good and high compliment for these upperclassmen. And while we honor them, there are important lessons still to be learned, namely that with every honor comes responsibility and accountability. Additionally, we must keep in mind that our juniors and seniors are still young and have little experience in this role as leaders of a community and so it is our responsibility, as adults, to shepherd and mentor our upperclassmen in this noble pursuit.
Our hope is that this ceremony instantiates these elevated expectations and stands as a symbol of the pride and trust our school places in our upper classmen.
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