Sixth Form Starts the Year on a High Note

Members of the Class of 2025 gathered for the Sixth Form Dinner and Retreat with an important agenda item front and center: set goals and intentions for their final year on the hilltop. 

Sacristan Juliana Loesche offered the opening prayer after her classmates were settled at their tables for dinner. Interim Head of School Sue Roberts P ’24, ’27 then addressed the group, recognized the diehards, and challenged seniors to make the most of the year ahead.

“I encourage you to not look back, to not rush forward, but to live in the moment,” she told them. “Enjoy each opportunity that you have on this beautiful campus. Enjoy the time you have together. Our students—particularly the Sixth Form—set the culture each school year. And so I ask you to think about how will you help support the Canterbury community and work together with students and faculty.”

Sue then introduced and expressed her appreciation for the 2024-2025 Sixth Form Council—Liam Dagostino, Sophia Faruol, Reagan Fitzgerald, Emily Lynch, Abdul-Qayyuum Olasewere, Brandon Rodriguez, and Connor Wohlfahrt.

Dinner concluded with a long-standing and beloved Canterbury tradition—all Sixth Form students lined up to give each faculty member a handshake or hug along with words of appreciation. They will do the very same thing at Commencement, bringing their senior year full circle.

The retreat portion of the evening kicked off with opening remarks from Brandon, who urged his classmates to make the most of their final year at Canterbury. “We as seniors have the power and ability to determine the outcome of how this year will go,” he said. “Our actions and life choices will be the difference maker. Bring a great attitude to everything you do and a sense of wonder and passion to wherever you shine brightest, whether that is in the classroom, the dorms, the theater, robotics, or sports. This retreat is the first stepping stone to a great year!”

His message perfectly set the tone for the activities to follow—topic discussions, letter writing, and creating bucket lists.

Student leaders led the discussions, which included such prompts as “Who and what brought you to Canterbury?”, “What has been your best or most challenging experience, and what did you learn from it?”, and “What goals do you have for the rest of the year?” 

Those reflective exercises got the creative juices flowing for students to write letters to themselves that were sealed and not to be opened until the end of the year.

Lastly, each discussion group crafted a “Bucket List” for their Sixth Form Year, with items such as reconnecting with someone you were close to but lost touch with or trying something new such as auditioning for the musical, singing at Mass, or getting more involved in community service. 

The retreat concluded with an all-class gathering in the Chapel of Our Lady, where Sacristan Emily Lynch offered a chapel talk, students prayed together and shared their intentions for the year ahead, and another Sacristan, Seoin “Eva” Choi, delivered closing reflections and the final prayer.

The dinner and retreat struck just the right chord to set the stage for a successful school year, said Joshua Leeuw, Director of the D’Amour Center for Faith, Servicer & Justice and Theology Teacher. “This event is a beautiful evening of fellowship,” he shared. “It is also a time for these seniors to think about how they are going to lead others during the school year and what it means to be a person of service, leadership, and faith on our hilltop.”

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