Last week’s Congé, a tradition in Sacred Heart Schools, was led by Eighth Class students and is a prime example of Goal 4 in action as students work toward forming connections with each other. Below, some Eighth Class students reflect on their takeaways from this favorite day — a surprise playday for all!
Elliot K. and Daniel Y. teamed up to make a fun “Cops and Robbers” day for Fourth Class. Together, they brainstormed activities, created a schedule and brought in items, including snacks (Fruit Rollups were a hit with their Fourth Class friends.)
“Congé helps build community as the older grades get mixed with the younger grades and you bond with them. It’s an overall fun day that everyone can just try out new things. ASH has taught me leadership skills to plan this event.
— Elliot
It’s actually a nice change to plan Congé and see how it is from the older kids’ point of view. Spending the whole day together, you really get to know them as a class and it just connects you a little bit more. They’ll learn your name, and you will learn their name so you can say hi in the hallways. Realizing this is our last Congé it’s a little bit sad, but it’s also good because you’re going forth and you’re moving on and you realize ASH has taught you so much.
— Daniel
Allison S. created a memorable day of activities for the Seventh Class and had a blast with them.
Congé is a whole day where you just interact with people younger than you and that you may not have seen or met before. I think it’s especially cool because we are a very tight knit school since we’re small. You can really get to know everybody when you have contact. I feel like I established a closer relationship with my seventh graders.
It felt like a really full circle moment because I’ve experienced Congé as the recipient for nearly 10 years. And now I really get to understand the reasons why we did these games, maybe why something didn’t go how I planned. It all makes sense now, and I feel very accomplished.
— Allison
Lizzie S. and Sophia W. planned a Dr. Seuss theme for the Second Class. They brought in costumes, crafts, games, and kept the day moving.
I like that we can just be with the little kids all day. I didn’t know anybody that well in Second Class, so it was a little awkward at first because we were just trying to get to know the kids. But, into the first game, they were already having so much fun and we got to see all their different personalities.
I was really excited the entire day, and it honestly felt like a blur. We’ve been waiting so many years to do it and then it just kind of happened. It was like a milestone, but it was also the start of the end because there’s a sense of getting closer to the end of the year. This is the first big Eighth Class event and now we’ll start having Maypole practices, so I’m kind of getting to realize that we only have a couple weeks left.
— Lizzie
