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| The Out-of-Door Academy victory bell |
On September 23, 2011, the school will celebrate Convocation. For those who do not know, Convocation is a day that honors the seniors. The day marks the school’s entrusting the seniors with their new roles as leaders of the school. The tradition began in 2002 as an assembly for the seniors to sign the honor code in front of the high school. Over the next few years, Convocation evolved into a day for the school community to come together in this celebration for students entering their last year at ODA.
One of the enduring and most loved traditions associated with Convocation is the pairing of each senior with a kindergarten buddy. A week before Convocation, the seniors go to the lower campus to meet with their buddies. When they arrive, they get together with their buddies to play and get to know them. The seniors continue to meet with their buddies after Convocation has ended as a way to bring both campuses together.
On the day of Convocation, all lower school students travel to the Uihlein Campus in Lakewood Ranch. Students go to the gymnasium, the Thunderdome, where they attend an assembly. On Convocation morning, the seniors again meet up with their kindergarteners and enter the gmynasium with them. Once everyone is settled, each grade presents a gift to the senior class. Gifts include songs sung by the younger students, car washes, poems, and slideshows. At the end of the assembly, the seniors and their buddies gather on the quad to ring the school bell; students then come together to take the annual all school picture.
We are all looking forward to the annual event. Thank you to everyone who has been working hard to make this event so memorable!
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