The entire St. John's community met in Liu Court on Thursday morning for All School Chapel. The theme of this year's gathering was "rising up." After the devastation of Hurricane Harvey last semester, students in Class 5 listened to Andra Day's inspirational song Rise Up. The students were then asked to express what they think it means to rise up after experiencing adversity. This question traveled through the School, and students made their own personal definitions of rising up. Some students created artwork, while others wrote about helping each other overcome difficult times of trial.
During All School Chapel, the crowd watched a video that featured students explaining what rising up means to the St. John's and Houston communities. In addition, Upper School Terpsichore used dance as their form of expression and gave a live performance to the song Rise Up. Headmaster Mark Desjardins then recognized a faculty member who truly epitomizes the spirit of rising up. After a motorcycle accident left Upper School teacher Erol Turk paralyzed last year, he has persistently progressed during his daily rehab visits and returned to campus last week to do what he loves most: working with students. Headmaster Desjardins officially welcomed him back to his St. John's home and awarded him the T.C. Evans Award. This award is given to a member of the St. John's family who has best exemplified devotion to the School through spirited and continuous support of its activities.
Click here to watch the livestream video of All School Chapel.