Friday to the Fullest

California

July 22, 2023

With the end of Friday’s classes, the weekend on the California High School Summer Program has arrived, a time for recreation, fellowship, and prayer.

At the afternoon recreation period, students mostly busied themselves with sports and arts. Some, however, took a chance to show off their talents at auditions for Saturday night’s Open Mic Night. Conducted by prefect Colette McCormack (’22), auditions saw students come alone and accompanied to St. Cecilia Hall with prepared acts. “The point of Open Mic Night,” Colette said, “is to allow students the opportunity to show what they’re interested in — different hobbies and the like, specifically dancing, singing, poetry, and skits.” And with this year’s lineup, the performances promise plenty of classical music, poetry, and everything else across the categories.

Photos: Recreation Period

After a dinner of bean-and-vegetable enchiladas, St. Cecilia’s filled once more for a loosely performed read-through of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The students enjoyed the production, laughing at the exaggerated Scottish accents of the prefects. “It was so fun,” said Anna van Wijk (’24). “The students were so engaged, thinking about Shakespeare in a compelling, relatable way.” And right she was, with programmer JP proclaiming after the show, “That was great!”

Photos: Macbeth

Next, it came time for a moment of solemn reflection with Stations of the Cross. All gathered in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, where Chaplain Fr. Sebastian waited, joined by student acolytes. With pamphlets of reflections about the Stations — penned by Fr. Sebastian himself — in hand, the group processed out of the Chapel into the waning evening. It advanced to the lower campus to walk along the College’s own outdoor Stations.

Photos: Stations of the Cross

The procession knelt before each station, walking slowly up the path. On either side, oaks towered, making a natural corridor within to contemplate our Lord’s Passion. Fr. Sebastian read aloud his reflections, each punctuated with reverent song.

St. Cecilia’s filled once more after the Stations, this time for dance lessons. College & Career Counselor Dan Selmeczy (’08), recently returned from his assistance with the New England Summer Program, led the students through basic dance instruction, aided by his wife, Mary. The students paired off in snaking lines throughout the space, as Mr. Selmeczy carefully guided them through the fundamentals of swing.

Photos: Dance Class

Laughter accompanied the initial attempts at each move, growing ever more gleeful as confidence filled students — some of whom had never danced before — and they connected with their peers. Pairs rotated partners, giving everyone a chance to hone their skills on a wide variety of styles. Students left grinning, invigorated by their newfound skills.

Thence came the night’s final activity by the Our Lady of Guadalupe fountain on the academic quadrangle. Projector set up, a musical trio — Colette on the microphone, alumnus Andrew Ellis (’22) on the guitar, and Joshua Moore (’24) on the keyboard — led students in a spirit-filled singalong. Other students and prefects occasionally joined in the performance, and all danced and sang into the night, spurred on by ice-cream sandwiches.

Photos: Singalong

Alas, curfew arrived all too soon, and students trickled back to their residence halls for the night — and a good thing for it! Today promises to be another full day, with a morning hike and afternoon volleyball tournament. Check the Summer Program Blog tomorrow for the run-down and photos!