convocation

our school's convocation was yesterday, and if asked to sum it up in three words, those would be CUTE, GODISAWESOME, and AMERICAISAWESOME.

our convocation is for the kindergarteners through the 12th graders, and there is no shortage of cuteness.  kindergarteners lead us in the pledge of allegiance.  the lower school chorus sings this adorable version of the national anthem.  and right there we are getting our daily dose of americaisawesome, too, but we're not done yet.  america continues to be awesome with our closing hymn, "america the beautiful."  i really like patriotic songs and as an adult the only time you hear them are at sporting events.  and if you are a teacher.

there was no absence of religion in our convocation.  opening hymn, opening prayer, middle-of-the-ceremony hymn ("draw the circle wide," which is a popular chapel song in our lower school, so a lot of the high school kids have fond memories of it - here's the chorus: draw the circle wide.  draw it wider still.  let this be our song, no one stands alone, standing side by side.  draw the circle wide.  i am pretty much in love with this song because ISN'T THIS WHAT ALL KIDS SHOULD BE TAUGHT?), closing prayer, blessing, closing hymn.  whoa.  god is everywhere in this ceremony.

and in the middle of it all, brian baumgartner, an alum of our school, spoke.  and he had an actual message that was perfect for our audience, he was funny, the school had clearly made an impression on him (he had surgery when he was in 5th grade, which left him in a wheelchair and then on crutches for several years, which is when he starting acting in school plays - so his first acting experiences were at our school), and he did the kevin from the office voice at the end.  victory on all counts!