Back to school shopping (for most of us) is checked off our to-do list. The school 'fits' are ready to be worn. The class schedules are posted. And the summer days without alarm clocks are about to become a distant memory.
The hallways of Aquinas will be full again! There will be new faces. Familiar faces. There will be wins and losses, big moments and ordinary ones, traditions and innovation, early mornings and long afternoons. There will be Masses, games, rehearsals, retreats, tests, dances, community service projects, conversations, celebrations and probably a few things nobody could have predicted.
But before we begin another year together, there are a few things we’d like our students – and our entire Aquinas community – to remember.
- Look up.
Seriously. While we continue to practice the “phones away during the school day,” we still encourage you to walk the halls with integrity. Smile at a stranger. Say hello to a teacher in the hallway. Talk to classmates you haven’t seen and ask how their summer went. Sit with someone new at lunch. Be present. Be open. Live in the moment.
Some of the best parts of school aren’t going to show up on a screen. They’re going to happen in the hallway, in the stands, in the classroom, backstage, at practice, around a lunch table or somewhere in between. It’s on you to make sure you’re actually there for them.
- Try something that scares you a little.
Maybe it’s a sport. Maybe it’s joining the theatre club. Maybe it’s dance, music, robotics, MasterMinds, Art Club, E-Sports, Core Team, Ski Club or one of the many other opportunities waiting for you at AQ. Aquinas offers more than 30 student clubs and activities, and the vast majority of our students find ways to get involved. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re good at yet, you just have to be willing to explore and try something new.
And maybe it’s simply raising your hand in class. Participating and answering a question even if you’re not 100% sure on the correct answer. Take a chance!
- Remember: You are known here.
Aquinas is a family.
That means your teachers will know your name. You are not just a student ID number or a name on a roster. You matter. Your classmates become teammates, castmates, lab partners, friends and, eventually, the people you realize you can’t imagine your school years without.
- Practice the Basilian motto: Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge.
Live them!
Goodness means choosing kindness when it’s easier not to. It means treating people with dignity. It means looking beyond yourself.
Discipline means doing the work even when you don’t feel like it. It means showing up. Staying focused. Trying again.
Knowledge means being curious. Asking questions. Learning something because you genuinely want to understand it.
Our Basilian tradition calls us to develop the whole person of mind, body and spirit, and to use what we learn in service to others. An everlasting assignment.
- Give yourself permission to be new at something.
To all our Li’l Irish walking through the doors for the first time: You don’t need to have it all figured out.
And to our returning students: You don’t need to have it all figured out either.
A new class may challenge you. A new team may push you. A new friendship may take time. A new responsibility may feel a little uncomfortable. And that’s good! Growth usually does. And remember to give yourself the grace you deserve along the way.
- Don’t rush through the year.
It’s easy to spend September and October waiting for Thanksgiving break, and then Christmas break, and then February break, so on and so forth. But somewhere in between all of those breaks are the moments you’ll want to remember. Like: the first game under the lights, the ridiculous conversation in the hallway, the teacher who made you laugh when you really needed it, the song everyone knows, the school Mass that hits a little different, the big test you thought you’d never pass, the Crispitos you eat on the 'reg' and years from now will wish you could have back. Don’t be so busy getting to the next thing that you miss the good that you’re in right now.
- Leave AQ better than you found it.
Aquinas has been educating in the Basilian tradition for more than a century. Generations of students have walked these halls before you, and generations will come after you. So ask yourself:
What will I contribute?
Will I make someone feel welcome?
Will I serve?
Will I lead?
Will I encourage someone who needs it?
Will I represent my school with pride?
Will I use my gifts to make someone else’s life a little better?
Because being #AQProud isn’t simply about what Aquinas can give you. It’s also about what you give back.
You don’t have to make this the perfect school year. You just have to make it meaningful. Laugh a lot, work hard, take chances, make mistakes, pray, be kind, learn something.
And somewhere along the way, you’ll become a little more of the person you’re meant to be. That’s what an Aquinas education is ultimately about: College Prepared. Life Ready.
And always,
Aquinas Evermore!