In what has become an annual tradition, Superintendent Debbie Siebert christened the 2010-11 school year with a convocation in the Peoples Church Sanctuary, Aug. 16.
The morning event assembled parents, grandparents, alumni, administrators, faculty and students of all grades to spend a half-hour together in “celebration, worship and dedication,” Siebert said. In addition, the administration took this opportunity to announce the school’s theme for the year, “Let your light shine.”
“The purpose of the convocation is to gather together as one family to unite ourselves before the school begins, and to remind ourselves of who we are, whose we are and why we’re here. It’s to get a strong focus to share our theme so everyone starts the year on the same page,” Siebert said.
After a welcome from Siebert, members of the worship band performed a few songs for the audience. Then Siebert shared a story about her family’s experience off the coast of Monterey, similar to her Caribbean anecdote from the previous convocation.
Pastor G.L. Johnson, chairman of the school board, concluded the event with prayer.
“I thought the convocation was uniting [sic] today, mainly because of the worship,” Zed Fries, ’12, said. “Being a member of both worship team and band, I could really see how the music was able to encourage an atmosphere focusing on a relationship with God, which is important to start the year with.”
Pete DeGroot, whose family has been attending FC for 29 years, finds that the convocations provide an effective means for launching the school year.
“I have gone to every one of the convocations; they’re a great way to start school off as a body of Christ worshiping and praying together,” DeGroot, father of senior Tim, said. “They’re good to have because we are Christ-centered and must start with the body of the school.”
Since the convocation rallied students from every grade, sophomore Katherine Bennett was able to observe the physical size of the school’s K-12 enrollment.
“I think it [convocation] is a whole lot more powerful when you actually get to see the true size of our school,” Bennett said. “I thought it was really neat for the entire school to come together, especially since we’re on two campuses.”
Although many students enjoyed the convocation, some disliked certain aspects of the event.
“I didn’t like it, especially because they [Siebert] tell the same boat story every year [sic],” Annaleah Madison, ’14, said. “Other than that, the songs were really encouraging because the words were very positive.”
Sophomore Brandon Porter felt that the convocation motivated him to improve in school, he said.
“I want to apply myself with classes, like the two honors classes I’m taking, and really push myself to the limits,” Porter said.
For information on last year’s convocation, read the Aug. 18, 2009 article, Convocation commemorates year’s beginning.
Austin Ward, Ashley Ward, Nick Avery and Mary Hierholzer contributed to this article.
