Eight years ago, Convocation began, and it remains arguably the most anticipated all-school event.  This ceremony is one of the rare times the ODA community as a whole comes together and celebrates.  Convocation celebrates the seniors and wishes them well on their final stint in high school before their maiden voyage into college. Because of this goodbye element of the day, some find it somewhat emotional.

Being three academic years shy of having the “lifer” title at ODA, I know exactly what comes to the mind of underclassmen when Convocation comes up in conversation: it’s a never-ending ceremony.  This perception could not be truer for me. Experiencing Convocation from the perspective of a senior, however, made my eight years as a lowly spectator well worth it.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of listening to the bite size 1^st graders sing an out-of-sync cover for the Beatles’ hit “Help,” and the traditional junior class video complete with hilarious, but fitting, captions to each seniors’ picture.  However my personal favorite gift was the second grader’s “Super Senior” song; I wanted to wear my superman badge for the rest of the day, but against my will, Brett Timmons, head football coach, made me take it off for the game later that day.

Following the gift presentations came the senior siblings speeches.  Ninth and tenth grade senior siblings gave succinct but powerful speeches to their family members.  Then came the grandest gift of all: the Headmaster’s gift, presented by David Mahler, the head honcho himself.  The gift entailed “something that was missing.” Something Mr. Mahler is making amends for not offering enough opportunities for seniors to gather with their buddies. He’s starting the tradition of a spring breakfast for seniors and their kindergarten buddies.

We seniors will all look forward to this event.What a great day!

Thanks for everything, guys!