Since 2012, Riverstone has opened every new school year with a special community event: Convocation. Typically, students from preschool through high school, faculty and staff, and families fill the Kennedy Gymnasium. The Head of School welcomes everyone and shares thoughts on the new year, and is met with waving arms and cheers as he introduces each grade during the traditional roll call. The highlight of the event comes next: the Convocation address written and delivered by the student who was the recipient of the Head of School award the previous spring.
This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, Convocation was held virtually. Some of our students were watching on campus in their classrooms and some were watching with their families at home. Even though the start coincided with a worldwide Zoom outage, the messages of gratitude and hope were clear. Head of School, Jeff Paulson, Ed.D., made sure the traditional roll call was still front and center while sharing his remarks. He then introduced this year’s featured student speaker, Louisa G. (’21).
Louisa reflected on how her teachers’ and classmates’ diversity of thought and culture, as well as reliance on each other for support, continues to positively impact her. She spoke about a beloved longtime Riverstone teacher, Jim Harper, as a “culture bearer” for Riverstone. She reminded everyone that, “You’ll never be alone at Riverstone, especially when it comes to curiosity,” and, “We’re going through this together, and that’s enough.”
If you have ever wondered what students really think about their experience at Riverstone, now’s your chance to find out.
Please take a few minutes to watch Louisa’s speech here.
Watch Head of School, Jeff Paulson, Ed.D, speak here.
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