6 minute read
Continuity & Community
Every school day at St. Sebastian’s begins with three students delivering carefully written, fully reviewed Chapel Speeches. In a year that has been anything but typical, this fundamental staple of the St. Sebastian’s experience continued without skipping a beat. Maintaining this most important practice, despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic, provided our students a vital platform to reflect, while providing an invaluable sense of continuity and community.
Our long-standing public speaking tradition was launched in the 1980s by Headmaster Charles Riepe, upon the excellent suggestion of Karen Birmingham P’84, GP’14,’17. The signature St. Sebastian’s School Chapel Speech calls upon every student to write and deliver a speech in his weekly grade level service in the Chapel. Soon after Headmaster Bill Burke arrived in 1990, the practice of having the Seniors deliver their speeches on Monday mornings in Corporate Chapel—in the Church in front of the entire School community rather than just their classmates—was implemented. Over the years, tweaks and enhancements have made the program ever stronger, but the experience has largely stayed the same.
This integral component of the St. Sebastian’s liberal arts curriculum provided a structure that proved to be key when the pandemic arrived on our doorstep. From the first morning of distance learning on March 30, 2020, senior Chapel Speeches were streamed on our website at the start of the school day, with students and faculty and parents and frequently grandparents and other family members tuning in from their homes or offices. Continuing this daily ritual under the extraordinary circumstances of the lockdown brought a sense of order and comfort during a time filled with uncertainty and isolation.
When St. Sebastian’s reopened to in-person learning in the fall, the need for physical distancing did not stop the steady rhythm of Chapel Speeches at the beginning of each day. Although it was not possible to gather in the Church or in the Chapel, new solutions were devised thanks to creative use of space and technology. Seniors gathered as a class in the wrestling room for Corporate Chapel, while their speeches were broadcast to homerooms throughout campus. “Delivering the Senior Chapel Speech is a rite of passage for every St. Sebastian’s student,” shared Jim Ferguson, 12th grade Chapel Speech moderator. “It’s their moment to speak in front of the entire student body and faculty and I know the seniors appreciated the opportunity to speak ‘live’ in front of their classmates.”
Members of the 7th Grade assembled in Ward Hall with Assistant Headmaster Michael Nerbonne to deliver their first Chapel Speeches. In a year when students needed to social distance and wear masks, this time spent together in one place has been a true blessing for our newest Arrows. “This weekly gathering where they can safely see their classmates, and briefly shed their mask to share something personal, has made it possible for them to get know each other better,” observed 7th grade advisor Tom Harrington.
Students in grades 8-11 gave their speeches in the Chapel, with only Headmaster Burke, Fr. Arens, Meyer Chambers and the faculty advisor present, as their classmates watched and listened from their homerooms. Even though the students in these grades were not all together in the Chapel, they were listening, and the speakers were being heard. As no visitors were allowed on campus, parents across all grades watched their sons’ speeches through the livestream, with extended family and friends being able to tune in as well. For many grandparents who were separated from their grandchildren by distance or COVID-19 protocols, this was a special moment.
While the logistics around delivery of speeches needed to be adjusted for reasons of safety, the basic components of the Chapel Speaking Program, and its many benefits, remained unchanged. Students engaged in the same process to craft their speeches, giving them the opportunity to apply lessons learned through our highly esteemed St. Sebastian’s Writing Program. Faculty advisors continued to meet individually with students to review and rehearse their speeches and provide detailed written evaluations afterwards. Whether in front of a mostly virtual crowd or a live audience of their classmates, students developed confidence in public speaking as they brought their written words to life.
For students in grades 8-12, Headmaster Burke offered feedback in the same way he always has, delivering remarks immediately after having heard every student deliver his Chapel Speech. “I recapitulate to students the parts of their speeches that really struck me, often sharing reflections from scripture or poetry,” shared Headmaster Burke. “It really is my classroom, and that was especially true this year.” Since many of the boys have been speaking to an almost empty Chapel, the headmaster’s commentary has been particularly precious. “Bill’s extemporaneous analysis and photographic recall has always been impressive, but this year it’s even more important for each boy to feel that he has been heard, and Bill has certainly heard them,” noted Stefan Cressotti, who not only served as advisor for the 10th grade but also took on the task of streaming every Chapel Speech for the students who were distance learning. Assistant Headmaster Mike Nerbonne continued the same tradition for the 7th graders, playing back to each student how his words landed on him. These live recaps have also been notably meaningful for the parents and other family members as they listened from home.
—Stefan Cressotti
The results of the Chapel Speaking Program are often spectacular, but this year there was a special quality to the speeches. Many boys naturally chose to focus on the pandemic, but even speeches on topics that are timeless— hobbies, injuries, pets, travel—made glancing allusions to the history we were living through. There was a new sense of appreciation and gratitude for relationships—missing or mourning a grandparent, bonding with siblings unexpectedly home from college—and simple joys such as walks in nature that are often taken for granted. “I am convinced that this has been the best year of speeches in the history of the school, and clearly that has been because of the pandemic,” observed Cressotti. “The boys have all been forced to become more reflective, more introspective than ever before, and they’ve all discovered the urgency of finding silver linings in adversity.”
The collective sense of trust and respect amongst our students has been built up over time, making it comfortable for them to speak about a vast array of topics, from lighthearted to profound—and as they get older, they tend to go deeper. This year, in particular, revealed the therapeutic value of delivering a Chapel Speech. Clearly, the boys have used this opportunity to not only share their passions and joys, but also to lay bare their vulnerabilities, and this has undoubtedly been invaluable to them as individuals, but also as classes of brothers. As Headmaster Burke often tells the students, “The more you know, the more you love, and we know more about each other, because you dare to share more about each other and you dare to share with each other because together you’ve built this vessel of safety where not only is it okay to go deep, you feel compelled to do so. These are my brothers. I can share this with them. I can help myself and them at the same time.”
The Chapel Speaking Program has long been recognized for building better writers and speakers, and that, of course, will never change, but the pandemic has affirmed its greatest power: to build community. Each of our 384 students shared some part of himself, creating a web of stories that connected them to one another and helped them get through a time in their lives that forever changed us and the world.
