Recently, our former 8th grade students at ASA graduated and are now incoming freshmen in high school. But they wouldn’t be where they are today without their families, friends, their time at All Saints Academy, and the support of our community. Their last year at ASA was unique and unforgettable, a year that could not have been predicted or expected, and it was a wonderful year, nonetheless.
As the 2021-2022 school year started, we were in a transition period for COVID restrictions, which was a change for everyone. And, regardless of COVID restrictions changing, our school began to change as well. Students were now able to move around the building, have classes with students from other grades, sit next to each other, eat lunch and play at recess together, and their sports, band class, and other extracurricular activities began to resume into a state of normalcy. Besides all of these changes, the makeup of our 8th grade changed as well.
To start the school year, there were 8 students who were in the building last year. We welcomed back two students who were virtual in the previous school year. One student participated in the bridge program offered at ASA and one student who was homeschooled during the most severe part of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also welcomed a new family who had an 8th grade student added to our 8th grade class. The school year started with 11 students, and they were all boys. But that was not all of the changes we would see to our 8th grade student body. Come November, we welcomed another family to ASA who had an 8th grade student to add to our mix, and she walked into a classroom full of boys.
Now our class is complete! Our 8th grade family would now grow together, learn together, and become closer than ever.
Throughout the year, our 8th graders were able to experience more “normal” things that our ASA 8th graders had been privileged to experience in the past. Field trips were back on the table and we fit in as many as possible! The class of 2022 went to Artprize, Camp Roger, traveled to the Lower Campus to participate in Via Dolorosa and Alleluia Day again, as well as experience an 8th grade fun day like no other. Besides the ASA sponsored field trips, many of our former 8th grade students went on an organized East Coast trip together after their graduation. Their connections and friendships with each other continue to grow and develop outside the walls of All Saints Academy.
Despite all of the changes, adjustments, and additions to our school and school community, the 8th grade students took everything in stride and did not let the good or the bad stop them from having the 8th grade year they wanted. Any challenge or request that was placed in their way allowed them to work together, grow, and come out the other side stronger. When it came down to participating or planning important events such as: leading the music in church, planning the all-school masses, preparing and performing the Stations of the Cross, working with younger students in various roles, or stepping out of their comfort zone, these 8th graders met and exceeded all expectations. It was amazing to see how, despite these challenges, they were able to work together, take it seriously, and use these experiences to become the students they are today.
Whether or not their 8th grade year started as the way they wanted, it could not have ended on a better note. The Class of 2022 are now beyond us, moving on to high school, but they will continue to have a home at All Saints Academy.
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Congratulations to the Class of 2022! We send you our prayers and blessings for your future adventures.
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