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News & Photos
Opening Convocation Celebrates a New Year
By 9 a.m. today, after all 23 buses had arrived and all 1,283 students had found their classrooms, the community gathered for the opening convocation on Childs Memorial Terrace.
The traditional, brief ceremony came with a twist this year: the passing of the school bell from Board of Trustees President Charlie Monk '67 to Charlie Britton, the 12th headmaster in McDonogh's 134-year history.
By coincidence, Britton, student body president Michael S. '08, and Middle School representative Justin B. '12 delivered similar messages to the crowd--embrace change, have courage, take appropriate risks.
After a lighthearted introduction, Britton told students what to expect from him: "that I will support you, that I will be fair, that I will take interest in all that you do to bring life to McDonogh School and to bring personal growth to yourselves. And, finally, that I will bring humor, compassion, and empathy to our school because learning can be hard."
"Whether you are in kindergarten or are a senior," he continued, "this is what a great school community expects from you. That you find joy and passion in your work. That you take appropriate risks. The world is full of people too timid to 'go for it.'"
"Visit any senior citizen retirement home and one of the most significant laments comes from senior citizens who regret not pushing themselves to live their dreams. Don’t be one of those people. Don’t fear failure. Great people fail and fail and fail. The difference is that they are not daunted – they have the willpower and confidence to succeed."
"And finally, you are going to make mistakes – I am too – but make honest mistakes. McDonogh is no place for cruelty or for malice. I know you won’t tolerate that. I won’t either."
"The start of school brings great hope and expectation. You have an awesome opportunity to “go for it” this year. So when the bell rings, rise to the challenge!"
Following Britton, Michael talked about the value of change. Citing lessons he learned from first grade teacher Ellie Thompson, the book Tuck Everlasting, and three novels in AP English, Michael said: "It seems like McDonogh has been trying to tell me something over the past twelve years. Change is okay; accept it as an opportunity to improve upon a situation."
"Change is all around us," he added. "Whether you are making the change from an old school to McDonogh, from kindergarten to first grade, from Lower School to Middle School, or from junior year to senior year, today marks a definite change in your life."
Michael then offered a warm welcome to all those new to the community, including the headmaster and his family.
Justin, in his brief talk, concluded with this quote attributed to Sir Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
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By 9 a.m. today, after all 23 buses had arrived and all 1,283 students had found their classrooms, the community gathered for the opening convocation on Childs Memorial Terrace.
The traditional, brief ceremony came with a twist this year: the passing of the school bell from Board of Trustees President Charlie Monk '67 to Charlie Britton, the 12th headmaster in McDonogh's 134-year history.
By coincidence, Britton, student body president Michael S. '08, and Middle School representative Justin B. '12 delivered similar messages to the crowd--embrace change, have courage, take appropriate risks.
After a lighthearted introduction, Britton told students what to expect from him: "that I will support you, that I will be fair, that I will take interest in all that you do to bring life to McDonogh School and to bring personal growth to yourselves. And, finally, that I will bring humor, compassion, and empathy to our school because learning can be hard."
"Whether you are in kindergarten or are a senior," he continued, "this is what a great school community expects from you. That you find joy and passion in your work. That you take appropriate risks. The world is full of people too timid to 'go for it.'"
"Visit any senior citizen retirement home and one of the most significant laments comes from senior citizens who regret not pushing themselves to live their dreams. Don’t be one of those people. Don’t fear failure. Great people fail and fail and fail. The difference is that they are not daunted – they have the willpower and confidence to succeed."
"And finally, you are going to make mistakes – I am too – but make honest mistakes. McDonogh is no place for cruelty or for malice. I know you won’t tolerate that. I won’t either."
"The start of school brings great hope and expectation. You have an awesome opportunity to “go for it” this year. So when the bell rings, rise to the challenge!"
Following Britton, Michael talked about the value of change. Citing lessons he learned from first grade teacher Ellie Thompson, the book Tuck Everlasting, and three novels in AP English, Michael said: "It seems like McDonogh has been trying to tell me something over the past twelve years. Change is okay; accept it as an opportunity to improve upon a situation."
"Change is all around us," he added. "Whether you are making the change from an old school to McDonogh, from kindergarten to first grade, from Lower School to Middle School, or from junior year to senior year, today marks a definite change in your life."
Michael then offered a warm welcome to all those new to the community, including the headmaster and his family.
Justin, in his brief talk, concluded with this quote attributed to Sir Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."