The typical convocation at Benilde-Saint Margaret’s usually includes a guest speaker that talks to the student body about their profession. This past week, since it was Catholic Schools Week, the administration decided to switch it up and try something different. A SignUpGenius was sent to all of the students in 7th-12th grade to sign up for various activities. Some of these activities include Mario Kart, letters of love, board games, etc.

The duration of a normal convocation is about an hour, meaning that students can tend to get bored. This can happen because convocations are set in the morning after first hour, so students are typically tired. This new format of the convocation helped prevent that drop of energy that happens through a convocation. “It’s more interactive,” sophomore Emma Dempsey said.

Aspects of this that students liked was the ability to spend time with friends and being able to pick what they were interested in. Another part that the students liked was the application of the “One BSM” motto. All grades were able to be in the same activities which let the grades mix and meet new people. “It was just a good way to get together with other grades and be together as a school,” senior Michaela Mergen said.

After this event, the general consensus around the student body was a general like for this version of convocation over the usual style of convocation. Students felt that it was well organized and thought out, but some had critiques. “I think that the SignUpGenius could have been a little more present because a lot of people missed it scrolling down on the email, but other than that, I do think it was pretty well organized,” freshman Kate Meyer said.

The staff were also active participants in these activities included in the convocation. Since the staff were the ones monitoring and teaching these courses. This actively engaged the students along with the teachers. This could strengthen student-teacher relationships because students chose options they were interested in and the teachers hosting these options were also interested in the topics. Looking forward to the future it seemed like a success in the eyes of the student body. “We actually had rave reviews from this. So I think this will be something that we do again next year,” Assistant Principal of Student Life Cami Dahlstrom said.